Cougars building practice facilities

PROVO — In 1981 Lavell Edwards wrote a memo to Brigham Young University administrators pleading for an indoor football practice facility.

BYU officials say construction could begin as early as next month.

"It's been two decades, so it's about time," BYU Athletic Director Val Hale said at a Campus Education Week class Thursday.

The school will build two buildings — an indoor practice facility and an athletic complex — for approximately $30 million. Construction could be completed by next August.

Hale hopes to raise the needed $17 million through BYU sports fans like those who attended his class Thursday. He said he wants to double or triple the membership of the Cougar Club, the university's booster organization, within the next year. Cougar Club members donate anywhere from $50 a year to $2,500 annually.

"We're accomplishing a great deal on a shoestring budget. We want to compete with the big boys, but as their budget grows we need to do more.

We need help from the fans," Hale said.

Hale said a member of the Quorum of the Twelve from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the school, told him to tell fans, "the church and the university need your help in building these buildings."

Hale said BYU spends about $20 million annually on athletics, one third that of major sports schools like Ohio State.

The new practice complex will be 81 feet high from the field to the rafters, giving kickers plenty of room to punt the ball when it gets too cold to practice outside. The facility will also be used by other athletes in the winter months, including baseball players and soccer players.

"When this is finished it will be the finest practice facility in America, college or pro. I really believe that," Hale said.

The three story athletic complex will be built across the street, adjacent to the current practice field for BYU football. The entrance will feature a three story glass atrium showcasing the highlights of BYU athletics — from the 2000 NCAA men's volleyball national championship trophy to Ty Detmer's 1990 Heisman trophy. A memorablia store will be situated near the entrance.