Arizona football: ‘Momentum building’ for indoor practice facility

Rich Rodriguez said there is momentum building for an indoor practice facility

Rich Rodriguez has said an indoor practice facility is at the top of his wish list for the Arizona Wildcats.

“I’ve been here long enough to know that for the heat and our workouts and all that, I think an indoor is a necessity and we have room to do it,” the UA head coach said in February.

And it’s always seemed to be a matter of when not if the UA will build an indoor facility, and Rodriguez hinted Monday that progress is being made to build one.

"I think there might be news forthcoming, that’s about all I can say about it,” he said. “I think there's been some momentum building and I know that’s something we’ve been trying to get, but right now I’m just worried about getting first downs against NAU.”

A look into UA’s records shows there is a project named “ICA Indoor Sports Center” currently in the works.

That ICA Indoor Sports Center is “a new building to provide safe all-weather practice for football and other sports,” the records say. “The multi-use facility is envisioned to benefit multiple sports which will also serve as a game day venue.”

The project is in the “design” phase, according to the UA.

“The Request for Qualifications for selection of a Design-Build team is in-progress,” the school’s website says.

The project manager is Mike Herman, records say, but the construction schedule is “to be determined” and there is no contractor or design professional yet.

The estimated budget for the indoor facility is listed as $15 million and no location has been set.

“Our weather is a huge bonus, but the summer heat is sometimes used against us in recruiting and I think unjustly so in some respects, but when it is 108 even if you workout at 7 or 8 in the morning it’s still hot,” Rodriguez said in February.

“If you want to come back and throw in the afternoon or if you have a storm in August disrupting practice, but we need an indoor. And I think everybody I talk to understands and is on board with that, it’s just a matter of getting it together sooner rather than later.”

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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