FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will break ground on a proposed academic center for athletes in early 2014, athletics director Jeff Long said Tuesday.
The facility will cost between $18 million and $23 million, according to estimates released two years ago. The 58,000 square foot center, formally known as the Student-Athlete Success Center, would house study areas, computer labs, a dining hall, auditorium and sports psychology offices, among other amenities.
The facility will be located just off Meadow Street, where a parking lot currently sits between the university's outdoor track and Pomfret Hall dormitory. Its purpose is to "create a comprehensive support program, addressing the academic, nutritional, personal and professional development needs of our more than 460 student-athletes in preparation for graduation," according to the athletics department.
The academic center is one of three building plans listed in Phase II of the Razorbacks' athletics facilities master plan. The second phase also includes a dual-sport practice facility for baseball and track, and a practice facility for men's and women's basketball.
The 52,000 square foot baseball/track facility, with an estimated price tag of $9.6 million, is under construction and scheduled to be completed next spring. The university will break ground on the 66,000 square foot, $25 million basketball facility Dec. 7.
The university's board of trustees approved $36.5 million in bonds earlier this year to help pay for all three projects, which have a combined estimated cost of up to $58 million. UA administrators have expressed desire to pay back the cost of the bonds through private donations.
All projects are part of the facilities master plan for athletics unveiled in October 2011 that will add an estimated $320 million worth of new facilities or upgrades to existing ones over a 30-year span.
Earlier this year, the Razorbacks opened the Fred W. Smith Center, a $40.35 million football operations complex. Arkansas officials are exploring the possibility of expanding club and suite seating at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, though on-campus football attendance was its lowest in 10 years this season.