Crowton's new digs are taking shape

PROVO — It frequently happens these days. Groups of people, some of them strangers, walk into BYU's football office and eyeball Gary Crowton's digs.

They're sizing up how his space will fit their needs.

Crowton just smiles and looks out his office window where he can witness — by the minute — construction of a new athletic administrative office complex that will house his new office.

That $30 million project just passed its first major milestone when workers finished erecting more than 550 tons of structural steel girders in just more than three weeks. Okland Construction project superintendent Dave Kasteler expects to pour concrete onto three decks in the next few days.

That will lead to building inner walls, stringing electrical wire and installation of heating and air conditioning pipes.

"It's a great site to see this come together," Crowton said.

On Thursday, Crowton joined athletic director Val Hale and media members on a quick tour of the construction site, pointing out key features including a giant atrium that will house a multilevel display of the school's athletic hall of fame, a sports health bar, training room, and football offices with expanded team meeting rooms.

"We're about a week ahead of schedule," Kasteler said. By March, Kasteler expects arrival of a giant 280-foot crane to key placement of giant beams for the other building, a giant indoor practice facility located several hundred yards to the south of the administrative complex. The special equipment will lift steel girders that span 207 feet, are 5 feet thick and 90-feet high.

"It will be significantly higher than this building," Kasteler said. "And it will be a massive building."

The project is a two-building plan. At this time a year ago, it was a very expensive one-building proposal. When Span Construction, a leading consumer of structural steel in America, approached BYU with a less expensive and more functional idea that involved separating the two buildings, university planners moved quickly to obtain approval to proceed and obtain funding.

"We were certainly a long ways from seeing all this back then last spring," Crowton said.

Crowton believes the new facilities will help him attract recruits who will see BYU's extended commitment to its football program. "I really think the biggest impact may be on those who may not be LDS but are interested in our football program."