The speakers at the groundbreaking were James who started the evening, Richt, University President Julio Frenk, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees Richard Fain, Mayor of Coral Gables Raúl Valdés-Fauli and Carol Soffer.
During his speech, Fain referred to Richt as coach Riched. James spoke about the importance of getting the facility built.
"”The Carol Soffer Football Indoor Practice Facility will go a long way towards strengthening our commitment to building champions…We are thrilled and humbled that so many Hurricanes alumni, fans and former players – and especially the Soffer Family — have stepped forward to help fund this ambitious project.”"
On HCK, James spoke about the importance of young athletes visiting campus and the perception it will have for the football program. He mentioned that it’s becoming a hot thing among football programs nationally to have indoor practice facilities.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/audio/hochman-crowder-and-krantz/
James said he had been working on getting an indoor practice facility before they hired Richt in December of 2015. Richt had also been working on getting an indoor facility built at Georgia.
James had been observing indoor facilities across the country and Richt had seen all the ones in the SEC to give Miami an idea of that they wanted to be built.