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Strength and Conditioning Center to open in Fall 2010

Tech’s Strength and Conditioning program will soon be gaining even more muscle.On Monday, Tech broke ground on the new Strength and Conditioning Center scheduled to open at the end of this year.

Director of Strength and Conditioning Chip Pugh said construction on the center was set in motion after a private donation of roughly $250,000 increased their total donations to just over $2 million.

Development of the center will be funded solely with private money.

The 24,000 square-foot facility will be located next to the softball and baseball fields in a location that Pugh said was ideal for Tech’s student-athletes.

“We thought it was the best place for the facility,” said Pugh. “The sand pit and the obstacle course are there, which makes things more convenient for training.”

Pugh said that private donors continue to pledge donations towards the center, and he said those donations would be used to purchase equipment.

The new center will house a 10,000 square-foot strength center and a 10,000 square-foot indoor practice facility. The remaining space will be used for offices and locker rooms.

The new locker rooms will be most beneficial for Tech’s softball team. The team’s current locker room is in a shed that, according to assistant strength coach Kristina Hortert, is prone to flooding.

Hortert said while she is excited for new locker rooms for the softball team, she knows the benefits of the new facility are bigger than lockers.

“We will have the best facilities in the OVC when this is finished”, said Hortert. “It will take our athletics and our recruiting to the next level.”

Although the center is primarily for student-athlete use only, Pugh said some weight-lifting classes, as well as Pugh’s Crossfit affiliate class, would be held there.