Arizona football: Rich Rodriguez says an indoor facility is a necessity for the Wildcats

Inclement weather has forced the Wildcats to practice at the Arizona Cardinals' indoor facility in Tempe, making it more clear that the UA needs one of its own.

The Arizona Wildcats are being forced to practice in Tempe the next two days because Tucson's monsoon season has damaged the team's usual practice field.

The Arizona Cardinals were gracious enough to allow the Wildcats to borrow their indoor practice facility, but eventually the UA needs one of its own and the recent storms have made it even more clear to UA head coach Rich Rodriguez.

"I’ve been here four and a half years and (originally) I thought ‘it never rains here, why do we need a facility?'," Rodriguez said. "But because of the heat in the summer and because of the unpredictability of the storms in this month, it’s not a want, it’s a need."

Rodriguez has been pushing for the UA to build an indoor facility for quite some time, and he's optimistic that it'll be built eventually, perhaps even relatively soon.

"My sense of urgency is probably higher than everybody else," he said. "But Greg recognizes it and has always recognized it. I know Greg works extremely hard and I’ve talked to some donors about it, and hopefully we get something done pretty quick... I'm optimistic."

It's not just protection from inclement weather that an indoor facility would bring, but it'd also bring more credibility to the football program in general, especially from a recruiting standpoint — because who wants to practice in 100 degree heat all summer?

As Rodriguez alluded, Byrne is plenty aware of this, but patience is needed. Byrne is already dealing with the ongoing renovations to the east side of Arizona Stadium, and in April he said improving the football team's facilities will be a step-by-step process.

"You know the old saying 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time'," Byrne said. "So we've been taking a lot of bites already, but we've still got some more to get after it."

So it appears Rodriguez will get his wish eventually, and it's just a matter of when it will come to fruition.

In the meantime, hopefully the Cardinals continue to be willing hosts and/or the UA is able to invent some sort of gadget that can control the weather.

You can follow this author on Twitter at @RKelapireUA

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