Locker room rebuild is underway

[AuricGoldfinger]

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[UltimateVUFan]

Color me confused. They looked pretty nice already. Granted, I don’t have a basis for comparison. If you told me they lagged behind standards set by SEC competitors I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. The whole thing is just silly to me, though. It sure seems like an unnecessary expenditure when there are so many more pressing needs in the world. But then, I suppose high school/college students are more interested in opulence than sufficiency. I was the same at one point, sure.

Slightly OT: but my wife and I started reading a book called The Life You Can Save about impact of charitable giving to end poverty and how far your dollars can go to truly transform others’ lives if donated wisely. (Actually available for free as an ebook and audiobook read by many noteworthy people - the author/foundation wanted to spread the word as much as possible and to make the message free to receive). This is no doubt skewing my perspective on this investment. I suppose as much as I want to see VU athletics succeed, a part of me is sad about what seems like a waste of money to go towards winning a game. Sorry for the digression and for being a Debbie Downer! Carry on with your regularly scheduled programming.

[Nashmann]

Not sure how much or if any Vanderbilt dollars go to charity but I would bet the recent income base tuition is helping many receive an education they normally wouldn't have had. I know VUMC gives out more free care than all the other hospitals combined. I would say the monies used for this renovation come from the $40+ million VU receives from the SEC....of which very little if any money in years prior was used on facilities upgrades. I am sure most on here as I give to charities.

I wonder if Coach Lea or players had any input on the design for this renovation. I agree the old looks pretty good but a little bland. Nice to see some effort in facilities planning. Anyone have pics of other SEC school's locker rooms to compare?

[shelbz75]

Compared to other SEC locker rooms the old one is really outdated which is wild considering the last update was in 2012 I believe.

[jpmando]

Doesn't look like a dump from my point of view. At all

[BrentVU]

Here's a video on Texas A&M's locker room complex... renovated 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU4NXtu2T5E

Renovated again in 2018...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohre3KXKl20

[MikenNashville]

Here are some other football facilities, weight room, locker room, nutrition area/training table and more in the SEC - I'm not even going to list Bama, Georgia, etc. as those are even on another level.

I think many of our fans like to feel the following SEC schools are closer to our level-

Kentucky football center, renovated in 2016 $45 mil:
https://ukathletics.com/sports/2016/7/2 ... 32488.aspx
"The centerpiece of facility is the new team locker room - where the team will dress for both practices and games - with a giant UK logo in the ceiling and screen on the rear wall. The 120 lockers will be personalized with players' photos, names and numbers and grouped by position. Each locker has an electronic locking system, ventilation, heating and air conditioning. The locker room is surrounded by a barber shop..."
Coincidence Kentucky recruiting has been way better in the last five years?

Mississippi State football center, 2013, $25 mil, renovated 2019:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/DKXH4PvoOsg0Q/
"The modernization of the locker room space also includes new carpet, custom wall graphics, fresh paint and LED lighting on the ceilings. The Seal Complex locker room serves as the Bulldogs' year-round headquarters."
I wasn't able to copy the image of the locker room but while ours doesn't look terrible compare it to State.

Ole Miss football center 2004 $18 mil, renovated 2013 $12.5 mil:
https://olemisssports.com/facilities/manning-center/5

Arkansas Razorbacks football center, renovated in 2012 $40 mil:
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/facility/smith-center/

Others of note -
Duke: Their current locker room looks very similar to Vandys, apparently all of their resources went into the recent $100 mil stadium upgrade which IMO was not the best bang for the buck.

Northwestern: Cannot compare their recent $280 mil upgrade since it included way more than the locker room/weight room/training table

While what we had was not a dump - I'm not suggesting we go full on football arms race - I see the renovation as a positive beginning.

[geeznotagain]

Slightly OT: but my wife and I started reading a book called The Life You Can Save about impact of charitable giving to end poverty and how far your dollars can go to truly transform others’ lives if donated wisely. .... I suppose as much as I want to see VU athletics succeed, a part of me is sad about what seems like a waste of money to go towards winning a game.

I suspect most of us on this board have a few favorite charities, and hopefully give what we can to them, in both $ and time. Likewise, most of us probably have pet peeves regarding how money is "wasted" on other things (or at least not used in an optimal fashion). In terms of the latter, many of mine would in some way involve the government, how they (mis)use the tax dollars they get. And many of us are probably put off by the obscene amounts of money spent to obtain the right to be in government. Think for instance of how much money was spent in the recent political campaigns, how much more productively that money could have been used to "transform others' lives". There. I've taken your OT paragraph and diverted it OT even further. But that's what came to mind when I read your post. With the Coffee Shop closed, it's too bad we can't have a thread that deals with nothing but our favorite charities: the good things they do and the differences they make. Or people that we know, possibly not even associated with a formal charity, who are making sacrifices and making a difference.

[VUaskew]

I think people are going to complain no matter what is done.

[Versus75]

If the photo on the left is what the locker looked like BEFORE the renovation, I could see some obvious deficiencies.

For example, those are glamorous cubbies rather than lockers. Where do you put your valuables?

And some chairs would help.

[AuricGoldfinger]

The funny thing is, the home locker room in the stadium is far, far worse than the locker room was inside McGugin. It's as tight and cramped a space as you'll ever see. I appreciate that it's only used for a relative few minutes on a handful of Saturdays each fall, but it's just ironic to me that VU isn't doing anything there just yet.

[DS2001]

What Northwestern built was off the charts. I applaud them for putting all of their chips in the Student Athlete basket. We’ll have a hard time beating them in recruiting battles. It has already paid off for them in football. I’d say they are on the verge of surpassing Stanford as the premier private school in the major sports.
We are woefully behind.

[OldDude]

Appreciate the communications from the AD. Only mistake IMO is the photos that were sent. Perhaps better to have sent an action shot of workmen doing demo, not the before/ after stuff which looked like we were going backwards. After all the real message, I assume, was to let the public know that VU is on the move to improve facilities.

[secchamp]

What Northwestern built was off the charts. I applaud them for putting all of their chips in the Student Athlete basket. We’ll have a hard time beating them in recruiting battles. It has already paid off for them in football. I’d say they are on the verge of surpassing Stanford as the premier private school in the major sports.
We are woefully behind.

I just watched the YouTube video of Northwestern's facilities. Wow! Very impressive! Definitely plays a big role in recruiting top talent.

[vandy05]

Honestly, the locker room was kind of a dump. The benches inside of the cubbies could take a lock on them and guys have them. But despite any renovations, the locker room has looked substantially the same since Woody become the coach in the 90's. We're so far behind its not even funny. Seriously, I'm hoping this is a major facelift. It looks like its going to be fortunately.

[Nashmann]

I would love to see some drawings on what is in store for the new locker room. or at least some pics as progress goes. Even a camera that shows live construction.

[thefan]

they could refurbish the restrooms and add more. The Vandy fan game experience: "miserable"!

[MikenNashville]

Bump

[fldore]

Here's a video on Texas A&M's locker room complex... renovated 2014.

......

Everytime I see videos of these facilities I think how preposterous they are. I know you have to do it to keep up with the Joneses but it seems like such a waste of money. How nice do lockers really have to be. How fancy do weight rooms have to be. How many barber shops do you really need. It's all so dumb.

[commadore]

Here's a video on Texas A&M's locker room complex... renovated 2014.

......

Everytime I see videos of these facilities I think how preposterous they are. I know you have to do it to keep up with the Joneses but it seems like such a waste of money. How nice do lockers really have to be. How fancy do weight rooms have to be. How many barber shops do you really need. It's all so dumb.

I guess what we should do then is to just drop sports and become the Emory of Tennessee. I mean, all that waste on sports that just gets the alumni jacked up and opening their wallets. Would be much better for us to have an academic only program and tell folks that they should give to VU simply to help make it a better institution. Those of us that want a team to follow can pick up Tennessee, or Alabama, or what ever school is in the state in which they live. Wow, I could choose between Auburn and Alabama. Charleston could choose between USCe and Clemson. And so on... Would save me from having to give to the Commodore Club, as we would have nothing for which to raise money for in athletics. What an idea.

Or, we can do what we have been doing and just scrape by the bottom of the barrel by putting as little into it as possible. Guess that would work too. At least for most of the folks here.

Personally, I am glad they can are willing to pay for it. Even there, it is HALF what they are spending on dorms for a bunch of spoiled brats, so that they will have rooms/apartments better than any of us old timers could ever imagine. Several thousand penthouses for each one. So I think the players deserve a little love.

And that is my $.02.