CORVALLIS – It looks to be a busy summer around Oregon State athletics, and not just from athletes sticking around campus.
Construction crews will be busy on several projects, the biggest a complete remodel of the P. Wayne Valley Sports Performance Center (SPC), which serves as the weight room facility for football and other sports.
Also on tap for retooling this summer is the women's basketball locker room, a remake to the front of Gill Coliseum and minor upgrades to the Valley Football Center.
The $3.5 million remodel will include new weight room equipment, rebranding, lighting, floors and a Gatorade station. The south exterior wall will look different with the installation of several folding glass, allowing athletes to easily flow from weight room to the field.
Cost of the weight room remodeling project is donor-funded. The donors, who requested to be anonymous, are a former Oregon State football player and a family of two former OSU football players.
The sports performance center was unveiled in 2008, at price tag of $16 million. But more than a decade has passed since it opened, and its remodel became a top priority since football coach Jonathan Smith was hired in December of 2017.
"It had become outdated and a bit antiquated," Barnes said. "It was not quite as effective for a facility that oversees 500 student-athletes. From a recruiting perspective, it's nice to be able to show off a state-of-the-art facility.
The project should begin construction by early summer and take about four months to complete. Barnes said the school will create a temporary area, perhaps in the Truax Indoor Center, for weight training during construction.
The Valley Football Center upgrades include enhancements to the Hall of Fame front entrance area, graphics to highlight former Beaver greats and football bowl victories, and minor retooling of some meeting rooms. The cost is $750,000, which has been fundraised.
As for a new women's basketball locker room, Barnes said the school is about six weeks away from securing construction bids. It should be completed during the summer, at a cost of about $2.3 million. Fundraising for the project is nearly complete.
The entrance of Gill Coliseum will also get a fresh look this summer, at a cost of $750,000.
One long-term project underway is a new gymnastics training facility. The school is purchasing a building off campus that will include space for a 20,000-square foot gymnastics training center. Barnes said the current gymnastics facility, located in an older building in the middle of campus, had become small and outdated.
It will take about two years to complete the project. Barnes didn't have a price tag for the project, saying it would be in the millions and would be privately funded.