by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
UNM intends to combat Albuquerque's fickle weather with its indoor practice facility.
A variety of Lobo sports teams will benefit from the facility, head football coach Rocky Long said.
"The No. 1 reason the facility was created was because it will allow all of our sports in the athletic department to have an indoor facility, so they can continue to practice no matter what the weather is," he said.
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Including football, the sports that can take advantage of the facility will be soccer, track and field, baseball and softball.
Athletes will be able to use the facility during the offseason when the weather is bad.
The facility is also an investment in the future, Long said.
"The No. 2 reason the facility was built was for recruiting, so that we can keep up with the 'Jones' in the recruiting wars," Long said.
The $7 million project started in March, and the athletic department plans to be done by the middle of August.
There was some controversy surrounding the cost and necessity
of the facility, but it should be beneficial in the long run,
Long said.
"It allows us to compete with other universities on an equal basis that have a similar university prestige," he said.
The facility will have field turf in it, which is being put in all of the new stadiums and indoor facilities. The new turf will help the Lobos prepare against teams with the same turf, Long said.
"A lot of stadiums around the country have gone to artificial turf fields," he said. "So, it allows us to practice on a similar field before we go play."
