Arkansas baseball will receive a facilities boost, as the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees has approved a series of capital projects that includes a Baseball Performance Center.
During a meeting on Thursday, trustees approved construction on three athletics-related projects. One of the them is the addition of a Baseball Performance Center, which will be constructed beyond the right field wall at the program’s Baum Stadium.
The current concept calls for the performance center to be constructed to roughly 40,000+ square feet, and feature a clubhouse and perhaps other amenities. The cost estimate for the performance center is $20-to-$25 million; the university is in the midst of fundraising for all three facilities projects. More from The Sentinel-Record:
“As we continue to focus on student-athlete success, we are pleased to be moving forward on three important projects to further support student-athletes in some of the most successful sports programs at the University of Arkansas,” said Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek.
According to the university, the projects will be funded entirely by athletic revenues, gifts and bond proceeds from a future bond issue and no university funds will be required to complete them. Fundraising for all three projects is ongoing.
The approximately 40,000-square foot baseball performance center is estimated to cost $20-$25 million. It will be built beyond the right field wall at the southwest corner of Baum Stadium.
WER Architects/Planners, based in Fayetteville and Little Rock, and HKS Architects in Dallas will lead the design team on the baseball clubhouse project. Kinco Constructors, based in Springdale and Little Rock, will serve as the general contractor.
In addition to the Baseball Performance Center, the series of projects approved by the Board of Trustees on Thursday includes a renovation and expansion of the Randal Tyson Track Center and the construction of a roughly 20,000-square-foot Track and Field High Performance Center. With the Baseball Performance Center included, the cost for the series of projects is expected to be in the range of $43-$55 million.
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