Cougars facilities now just heavenly

PROVO — I caught up with the Deluxe Tour midway through the luncheon. A traffic jam on I-15 had me running late.

That's when I saw the chocolate fountain.

Some say in heaven the streets are paved with gold. Others say heaven is a mountain forest or balmy beach. I figure it includes at least one chocolate fountain, exactly like the one in the Edwards Stadium president's loge. Strawberries, pineapple, bananas, oranges, marshmallows, all waiting to be dipped in a never-ending supply of milk chocolate.

Yours for just a couple of thousand bucks — and you don't even have to die first.

BYU officials held a media day to show off their newest athletic additions on Wednesday. There was the $9 million indoor football facility that includes enough space for both the offense and defense to practice in separate areas. There is even a penned off area in which to herd slow-moving linemen. The roof is 85 feet high — more than enough space to accommodate punters. How big is it? It looks like a blimp hangar.

Then there's the $21 million student-athlete center, still under construction. Talk about impressive. There will be a restaurant, a "Wall of Fame," athletic offices, weight rooms, locker rooms, lounges and they're even considering a hanging screen that will replay BYU sports highlights to visitors. The computer room will house 50 desktops. The main locker room will include extra wide cubicles, halls and doors to accommodate extra large people.

The restaurant will have the feel of a sports bar, minus the Coors Lite and Samuel Adams.

There will be conference rooms, coaches' offices and great views of the practice field and "Y" mountain. One locker room will be exclusively for graduating players, who are being tested by scouts, and current pros.

There will even be a memorabilia store where fans can buy items that can't be found elsewhere.

But that stuff is mostly for the players and coaches. What I was interested in is what improvements there will be for the fans.

Think of it this way: You'll never settle for Cougar Crunchies again.

As part of a plan to raise funds for the program, about 1,000 seats were removed from Edwards Stadium. Now BYU is selling "Club Seating" in the east stands. Cost for the seats is $1,000. But to qualify for those seats, they must also make a $1,000 Cougar Club donation.

As part of the Club Seating deal, fans will find the bigger seats with more legroom, big enough to handle, oh, Manaia Brown. Under each seat will be a game day "fan pack" stocked with gifts, candy, water, etc.

"Our goal," said athletic director Val Hale, "is to spoil fans, make them feel like kings."