Vanderbilt breaks ground on basketball operations facility at FirstBank Stadium
Vanderbilt broke ground Wednesday on a new men's and women's basketball operations center in the north end zone of FirstBank Stadium.
The center, made possible by the athletic department's Vandy United fundraising campaign, will contain new practice gyms for the men's and women's basketball teams as well as new locker rooms, a weight room, training facility, a visiting football locker room and new premium seating options for football. According to athletic director Candice Lee, men's and women's basketball teams will have their own practice gyms on separate floors of the building.
"They share a practice gym now but the reality is that they will have their own space to call home and be able to move back and forth back and forth officially," Lee, an alum of the women's basketball program, said. "And what I love, what I am very proud of is that in that building we have given identical space to men's and women's basketball. So the first floor will be dedicated to men's basketball but third floor identical in terms of square footage that will be dedicated to women's basketball with shared facilities in between. ... I think it will give our both of our programs championship caliber experiences, championship caliber resources, and we expect championship caliber programs."
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Lee said the facility, the first in a series of planned renovation projects, is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024 for use by both basketball teams starting in the 2024-25 season. That will allow the new volleyball program, which begins play in 2025, to use the existing facilities in Memorial Gymnasium.
Along with the south end zone project, which will require demolition of the south end zone seating in March, end zone seating will not be available at FirstBank during the 2023 season, however, the football team will be able to practice and play there while construction is ongoing. A temporary video board will be added, as the old one was removed amid the renovations.
"We're not here to send a message to anyone but ourselves that we're serious about competing," Lee said. "This is a great time for me to remind you, we're charter members of the SEC. I love that we're acting like it. And so I hope that the message is clear that when we reach our potential, it's going to be amazing."
Vanderbilt basketball faces Tennessee at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt breaks ground on basketball ops facility at FirstBank Stadium
