Sacramento State football and track and field coaches have moved into the new Eli and Edythe Broad Field House.

Last week, the football and track and field programs began moving into and operating out of the new athletic facility.

The approximately 20,000- square-foot building replaces Sac State’s old field house, which is being torn down so that construction can begin on the new Recreation and Wellness Center scheduled to open September 2010. The recreation and Wellness center will include a new Student Health Center, weight-training and fitness rooms, an indoor track and a rock-climbing wall.

The two-story field house includes a 4,565-square-foot weight room, an athletic training room, an equipment room for football, track and field and baseball, meeting rooms, men’s and women’s locker rooms and offices for the football and track and field programs.

While coaches and staff moved into the building, workers continued to put finishing touches on the facility, such as hanging mirrors and installing equipment.

Sac State Deputy Director of Athletics Bill Macriss said that staff had to move out of the old Field House before all of the work on the new facility was complete, so that construction could begin on the Recreation and Wellness Center.

Conditioning Gary Uribe said the new weight room is a “dramatic upgrade” from the former weight room in terms of space and new equipment. The new facility will allow Uribe and his staff to train student-athletes year round, Uribe said.

“Aesthetically, it will have that wow factor to get students to commit and come here as student-athletes,” Uribe said.Jon Osterhout, Sac State football defensive line coach, said the new field house puts Sac State on an even footing with NCAA Division I-A schools in the Western Athletic Conference, like the University of Idaho, Boise and the University of Nevada, Reno, that recruit players from the Sacramento region. Sac State is a NCAA Division I-AA school.

“We feel now we have something to offer student-athletes we are trying to recruit and something current players can take pride and ownership in,” Osterhout said. “It should help elevate their game.”

John Taylor, freshman undeclared major and center for the Sac State football team, said the new facility is 100 percent better and a lot bigger than the old field house.

“The weight room is awesome,” Taylor said. “It is a big step up for us.”

Michael Brannon, senior kinesiology major and linebacker for the Sac State football team, said he was excited about the move from the old field house to the new building.

“It is gorgeous compared to the shed we used to be in,” he said. “I am excited to use the new equipment but I don’t want to touch it because it is so beautiful – like when you get a brand new car.”

Sac State Director of Athletic Training Steve DeHart said the athletic training facility in the new field house has an entire room devoted to hydrotherapy. The old training room had one whirlpool tucked into the corner of the room that was not adequate for the school’s needs, he said.

“Now we can provide our student-athletes with the services they require,” DeHart said.

Lori Vaught, senior interior design major and member of the Sac State women’s track and field team, said the new facility has all the things necessary for a high-quality track and field program.

“It’s like moving from the outhouse to the penthouse,” Vaught said.

In the past, Sac State hosted the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The last time Sac State hosted the event was the summer of 2006, just before construction began on the new field house.

Macriss said improving the campus’ field house and recreation facilities will enhance the ability of the university to attract major events like the track and field championships.

The new field house is the first campus building project to be entirely financed with private money donated by the community, Macriss said.

Of the approximate $11 million cost for the facility, $2 million was donated by Eli and Edythe Broad.

“We have always been supportive of public education and when we were made aware of a need on the Sac State campus that was essential to advance the university’s capital program, we were happy to meet that need,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundations.

Broad is the founder and chairman of both SunAmerica Inc. and KB Home and is a major philanthropist whose foundations support education, healthcare and art projects around the country. In addition to the money donated for the new field house, Broad is helping Sac State develop a satellite campus in Placer County and has committed 300 acres of his Placer Ranch development near Roseville for the Sac State Placer campus.

While no specific date has been set, the university is planning to hold an open house for the Eli and Edythe Broad Field House in August, Macriss said.

Todd Wilson can be reached at [email protected].