WATCH: Florida Gators players take first tour of brand new football training center
The Florida Gators football players got their first tour of the finished James W “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center and filmed their reactions. The team had not been inside the building for over five months as construction was finished, and were extremely excited to see their new locker room and training facilities.
Florida players tour their new training facility
The Gators are finally moving into their new 142,000-foot, $85 million home this week — and the players are fully ready to go. The facilities were designed to give new facilities to all student-athletes on campus, as well as help day-to-day operations for their football program as it’s closer to their practice fields.
In the video shared by the team on social media, the players walked through the front doors of the Heavener Center for the first time and started shouting and running through the halls to their locker areas almost immediately. They quickly took their own photos and videos of their nameplates over the lockers — showcasing the player’s name, position, photo and home city.
After breaking in their new chairs that lean back nearly flat for a relaxing private spot, the tour continued to the team meeting theaters, and past the team pools and into the new weight training area. Several players took the chance to be the first Gators players to work out in the building, already putting in a quick weightlifting session in their new building.
The video closed with a clip of sophomore tight end Jonathan Odom expressing their gratitude to everybody who made the new facilities possible.
“Thank you to everyone who donated and made this possible!”
Florida staff on the new home for Gators football
“It screams commitment,” said head coach Billy Napier of the new building. “A lot of time, energy and certainly investment from a lot of our supporters have made it to really improve our facility. Everyone wants to talk about recruiting when it comes to the facility but I think it’s more important to our player experience.”
Florida executive associate athletics director Chip Howard oversaw the construction of the new facility, which began in 2016. Howard explained to Gators Online that Sunday is the first time players have walked through the new building in five months.
“Once we get a chance on Sunday night to see the players’ reaction, that’s when it really hits you,” Howard told Gators Online. “It’s kind of like when you build a house. When it’s studs it’s one thing, but when you see the granite countertops and all the finishes, it blows you away. I think that’s what they’re going to be excited about. And the fact that they’ve got a new home that’s going to be the nicest in the country.
“When you see what the players’ reaction is and the next day see them actually utilizing the space, that makes everything worthwhile. The process of taking six years to get to this point, it took a little longer obviously because we totally changed locations, but it’s going to be worth it. This is the right building. Why do a building that’s not going to be quite right? This is the best in the business.”