The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/859588
SEPTEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 21 phen Ross, the U-M alum and owner of the Miami Dolphins, provided a $100 million gift to the athletic de- partment a while back, and others have supplemented those funds. Manuel and those close to the situation see the finish line on this project. "It is on time," he said. "It's going to open by the end of the year, and be accessible for all of the programs at the beginning of next year. We're on time and on budget with that project. "We've had great weather. I also give credit to our construction group, my staff, and the university over- sight of the building and that facility. We're well on our way … it's a beau- tiful space. "It's going to add a lot of value to all of the sports in there, and what we're already doing with men's and women's tennis, women's gymnas- tics, wrestling and soccer." In fact, once the move in becomes complete, Michigan will be hosting more than half of its student-athletes on the South Campus. Back down the street, the non-stop effort to boost Michigan's football fortunes continues. A $21-million ren- ovation of Oosterbaan Field House will feature a 5,000-square-foot mez- zanine level, a number of mechanical upgrades and a 32,000-square-foot strength and conditioning area. An upgraded weight room in Oosterbaan is projected to cost $14.8 million, with the entire project ex- pected to be done by early 2019, ac- cording to Manuel. Much of the cost with Oosterbaan, originally constructed in 1980, in- volves items that don't jump out in a photo or video. Extensive infrastructure upgrades are taking place, involving the sig- nificant improvement of the heating, air conditioning and ventilation sys- tems. The 37-year-old structure will receive a new lid, one that will incor- porate a system designed to brighten the space. "The weight room is under con- struction in Oosterbaan, as well as deferred maintenance — a new roof, fire suppression, new lighting," Man- uel said. "That's currently underway. "The renovations within Schem- bechler will occur next year. Obvi- ously, we need to finish the new weight room, shift all the equipment out of the current weight room, open that space and then start to move it around. "I'm very pleased with the prog- ress and where we are, as it relates to the renovation and the addition of the new weight room." The former weight room area in Schembechler will include renovated spaces for athletic medicine and of- fices. Manuel smiled when drawing a distinction between weight training when he played football at Michigan — in the late 1980s — and the point to which everything has evolved in 2017. "It will add a lot of value, in terms of the ability to refresh a facility that was built when I was playing here," he said of the project. "We've done tweaks and changes to the facility along the way — repaint, refresh. We went through a locker room renova- tion in the mid-2000s. "Other than that, the space we're looking to renovate really hasn't been touched since the building was built back in the late '80s. We're looking to refresh it, bring up some of the things that we want to do now. "For example, we'll have a nutri- tion station. That wasn't around for me. You grabbed a Gatorade in a cup, and that was it. Now they have all the bars and juices and fruits. We're really bringing the facility up to to- day's age, with the technology it takes to rehab, to prevent injuries, to do the things necessary for our student-athletes to perform at a peak level." The student-athletes will experi- ence great value through the facili- ties, he mentioned, because of the advanced technology to be incorpo- rated. "We can add value in terms of some of the research that can be done, some of the mechanisms of monitoring where students are from the time they enter here until the time they leave," Manuel said. "We can monitor that with the equipment, staffing and space you need to do that. "I think it's really going to elevate our program in the way everything is laid out, in the investment we're Manuel "We're building things not only for now, but making sure we take care of the future. Michigan's history has really been a strong focus on doing that and doing things the right way."