Indoor practice facility should be ready for Miami football season

The Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility should be ready for the start of the Miami football season in August according to a report in the Miami Herald. That is line with the timeline from the original projections.

Miami Athletic Director Blake James spoke about the facility that is a game changer for the Miami football program after the introduction of new baseball Head Coach Gino DiMare on Tuesday. The $34 million, 83,000 square facility broke ground on May 4, 2017. The construction has been on schedule.

James told the Herald that he stopped by the Soffer on Monday. The Hurricanes Athletics boss said that the windows for the facility were recently installed.

Having an indoor practice facility means that Miami will not have to miss practices anymore because of dangerous weather. The Miami football team frequently has had to cancel practices in the past due to lightning storms. That number can be as high as somewhere in the twenties during a typical football season.

As technology advances, James said that the plan in the future is also to have an indoor practice facility for the baseball team. James had a lot to say to the Herald regarding those facilities.

"“Our plan is we’re going to be in it in August for practice…When we have fall camp, we’ll be in it. My goal is we’ll be in there Day One, but that’s not something that we can control. We’ll be in there as soon as we can be. Whenever it is, we’ll be excited to have it and it’ll be a blessing for our program…"

James also spoke about the size of the facility. That was the reason he visited there on Monday.

"“To get a better feel for just the massiveness of the space that our guys will have to practice and perform.”"

James gave out accolades to those involved in getting the project built and quickly.

"“Credit to the facilities people on campus [and] to Lemartec, our contractor…What they’ve done in a small window is simply incredible.”"

James told the Herald that the Athletic Department is currently building an indoor batting cage for the baseball team.

"“Just as we need [an indoor facility] for our football program for our guys when the lightning goes, we need it for our baseball program too…As technology gets better and better, to have the facility you need to be the very best so all of are sitting in Omaha [at the College World Series] in a few years, we need to continue to invest in the facilities that we have in our program.”"

James, with the assistance of Mark Richt is making difference in the Athletic Department’s facilities. The largest donation came from the Soffer family for the practice facility. It could be called the house that Richt built though. He solicited a lot of the donations and contributed $1 million of his own money towards the facility.

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When he was hired in December 2015, Richt made getting an indoor practice facility a priority. That was one of his stipulations he made when he was hired. Getting it built less than three years after Richt was hired was impressive. Having the facility and other enticements that are going to help get recruits to sign with the Hurricanes.