Scan your hand, enter a code and you’ve been granted access to Virginia Tech’s new $18 million treasure.
Tech’s new three-story, 41,900 square-foot building, which took 15 months to complete and was privately funded, includes a new football locker room and a new wrestling practice area. The facility encapsulates the Hokies’ mission this decade: Win, build, and keep winning.
“It’s something that the kids really like and they’re going to enjoy,” said Frank Beamer, head football coach. “I really think in the big picture it shows the intentions of what this program is all about. It’s the best in the country as far as I’m concerned and that’s where we’re trying to get to.”
The new locker room is approximately three times the size of the old locker room and located at the bottom of the Merryman Athletic Center. At 14,800 square feet it also boasts a host of amenities including flat screen televisions for announcements, hot and cold tubs and a spacious new shower area.
The lockers themselves include a ventilation system to keep equipment dry as well as individual safes for players to store valuables. They are also among the largest in the nation and this was at the forefront of Beamer’s vision.
“Coach Beamer asked me what’s the largest locker that you’ve ever seen and I said well the largest I’ve ever seen either in life or in pictures is the one that Texas has,” said Tom Gabbard, Tech’s associate director of athletics for internal affairs.
“I think it’s maybe 40 inches. (Beamer said) I’ll make ours 42, so I said alright.”
Senior cornerback Rashad Carmichael agreed describing his initial reaction to the new locker room.
“‘Wow’ was the first word. The first thing I saw when I went and checked it out was a picture of the first Orange Bowl we won with me and (Jason Worilds),” Carmichael said. “The guys that are going to come in, that’s going to be their home forever. When those guys come in and they get to look at me and they’ll see … Worilds, hopefully that will make them want to come out and work a little harder at practice.”
On the second floor, a 12,900 square-foot lounge will keep players busy and serve as an area for recruiting banquets. The lounge includes six 65-inch high definition televisions, pool tables and an area for players to sit and rehydrate after practice.
Off the lounge, there is a large deck which includes a grill and a fire pit. The area overlooks the practice facility and can be used for special guests who want to get a better look at Tech’s practices.
“It’s so high tech, I told them I wanted to hang out there on the weekends and maybe bring a young lady in there and show her around,” Carmichael said.
The third floor is home to the wrestling team offices and a new practice room. A unique feature instituted throughout the entire facility has benefited wrestling coach Kevin Dresser.
Each floor is climate controlled, so while football generally keeps the locker room area cool, the wrestling team keeps its practice area much warmer. Also, the building was “over air-conditioned,” which will help to cool areas in Cassell Coliseum that never received central air, according to Gabbard.
In addition, a number of features in the locker room will remind Tech players of the program’s tradition. A large clock is situated prior to entering the locker room which symbolizes that players need to be on time and ready for work. It also includes individual punch cards for players.
Next to the clock sits a shelf where the Hokies’ helmet and the helmet of the opposing team will sit. The helmets will remind players of their commitment that week to the team’s goals.
“We gave a lot of thought to what we wanted in there,” Beamer said. “The words that we used in the program the most, the things that are a priority, the things that we really stress … will be in that locker room where they’re seeing them every day.”
In the locker room are 12 different images highlighting famous Tech finishes. There are also words of inspiration on every locker, and Carmichael described the importance of Beamer’s motivational points.
“That’s everything that Virginia Tech football is about,” Carmichael said. “That’s what coach Beamer tries to represent, even in the older locker room, around the locker room is relentlessness and work ethic.
“It starts to become just a way of life.”
The wrestling team has already moved into the facility, but according to Gabbard with the upcoming Boise State game and game against James Madison, coach Beamer does not want any distractions for the team.