matter_of_fact wrote:I would be interested in knowing what other MVC schools have practice facilities and hearing something about those facilities. Anyone?
Thus is according to the Omaha paper:
• Bradley: The men's team practices in the school's Basketball Performance Center, which was built as part of the $50 million Renaissance Coliseum, the 4,200-seat arena that houses the Braves' women's basketball and volleyball teams. The men's facility includes a full-length primary court that is crossed by two full-length courts. The coliseum also has locker rooms, a film room, offices and an academic support center.
• Drake: The men's and women's teams practice at the Knapp Center, the school's playing arena, and the connected Bell Center, which also serves as a campus recreation center. The Knapp Center opened in 1992 and includes locker rooms from both teams as well as a weight room. A basketball-only practice facility that would be a part of a renovation of the Drake Fieldhouse is in the campus master plan, a Drake spokesman said.
• Evansville: The Purple Aces will move into a new $3.3 million practice facility this October. The 25,000-square-foot venue will feature separate courts for the men's and women's teams as well as locker rooms and offices for each program. The facility is being built adjacent to the Carson Center, which had been the teams' home since it was built in 1962.
• Illinois State: The Redbird men's and women's teams practice at the North Gym at Horton Field House and Redbird Arena. The North Gym recently received a $500,000 face-lift. Redbird Arena, opened in 1989, also houses a weight room and offices for the ISU athletic administration.
• Indiana State: Men's and women's basketball teams share three-court ISU arena with the volleyball team. The arena opened in 1962 and once served as the competition site for men's basketball (until 1973) and women's basketball (1992). ISU Arena houses all of the school's athletic offices except for football. The building is currently undergoing renovations that include new lighting, new locker rooms for basketball and volleyball and a new floor.
• Missouri State: Missouri State teams practice at the on-campus JQH Arena, which opened in 2008, and at the Turner Family Practice Facility. The practice facility is part of the Hammons Student Center complex, which served as the Bears' playing home from 1970 until the new $67 million arena opened.
• Northern Iowa: The Panthers practice at the McLeod Center, where they play games, and at the Physical Education Center. The $26 million McLeod Center opened in 2006, while the PEC opened in the fall of 1971. The McLeod Center is attached to the UNI-Dome, where UNI plays football, and the complex includes offices, a weight room and training facilities.
• Southern Illinois: The men's and women's teams practice at SIU Arena, opened in 1964 and renovated in 2009-10. The arena complex also houses all athletic department offices. There are no plans to build a separate practice facility, an SIU spokesman said.
• Wichita State: A two-court practice facility, which is connected to Koch Arena, was constructed when the arena was renovated in 2003 at a cost of $25 million. The renovation also included construction of new locker rooms, a weight room and a sports medicine complex.
