The Texas Tech football team is less than seven weeks away from taking the field for the Aug. 31 season opener against Abilene Christian. This season, the attraction is more than just the team and the games, though, as Tech’s $242 million football facilities project moves closer to completion.
The Avalanche-Journal sat down with Tech deputy athletics director Jonathan Botros recently for an update on the progress.
Here are key dates to know:
Texas Tech football coaches move in: July 19
For the past two decades, Texas Tech football coaches officed in the Football Training Facility, the one-level structure just southeast of the stadium. That was razed to make way for the two-story Dustin R. Womble Football Center that’s currently under construction.
Joey McGuire and his assistants, working out of suites in the west-side stadium building the past few months, will move into their new offices in the south end zone building this coming week.
“When we start camp, all the student-athletes will be able to visit, use the position meeting rooms in the south end zone,” Botros said. “We will likely use the field club as the large team meeting room. So we’ll be completely out of the west side so we can start prepping that for fans for game day.”
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July 31 is the first day of practice for the Red Raiders. At that point, they’ll be able to use the portable locker rooms in the east parking lot of the stadium or the new team locker room in the south end zone.
“We’ll just play that by ear when camp starts on which facility,” Botros said, “or if they want to use both.”
Visitors’ locker room: July 31
Tech officials approved construction of the new street-level visitors’ locker room at the northeast corner of the stadium near Marsha Sharp Freeway. The thought process: To reduce congestion at the stadium’s south end by moving opposing teams’ game-day operations, including team buses and equipment trucks, away from an area of heavy pedestrian traffic with mostly Tech fans, Tech players and their families.
The new locker room is scheduled to be done July 31.
“If for some reason there’s a utilization we can make there during fall camp, we could,” Botros said, “but it’s coming along nicely.”
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South end zone building substantial completion: Aug. 2
The centerpiece of the project is the south end zone structure. From the bottom up, it includes a field-club level, a loge-seating level, a street-level concourse with colonnade, the coaches’ offices level and a top level with suites.
“The substantial completion we’ve been given is Aug. 2,” Botros said. “That will include all levels. The field level … is really, really close. We’re talking about countertops and branding and things like that, some of those final finishes, and then start to move furniture in.
“The concourse is getting close, and the coaches’ offices. So that premium level, those suites, will be the last thing to be finished. But again, we at this point have been given assurances that we’re still on track for an Aug. 2 completion for the entire south end zone.”
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Womble Football Center substantial completion: Sept. 21
Tech officials don’t want a ton of change for the Red Raiders during their daily preparation in August. Thus, the substantial completion date for the Womble Center is Sept. 21.
“So we’ll be a few weeks into the season,” Botros said. “We will want to provide the absolute minimal level of disruption for the guys, and so we will defer to coach McGuire on when he would like to move out of their current situation and into the Womble. So it could be sometime shortly after Sept. 21, or we may wait for that bye week in October.”
The Red Raiders’ first of two open dates is Oct. 12, after their sixth game.
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When will the stadium’s east parking lot be cleared?
Last season, teams visiting Jones AT&T Stadium dressed in portable locker rooms — trailers located in the east lot. That’s in addition to the trailers used by contractors and construction personnel. The equipment trailer and portable coaches’ and players’ locker rooms will remain at the beginning of the season. So will a trailer for contractor Manhattan Lee Lewis Construction.
Some other trailers that have housed subcontractors and the project management team will be moved out, probably in early August, Botros said.
“So we’ll park as many fans as we can in this (east) parking lot,” Botros said, “and then once these guys get done with the Womble, we will strategically — because it will take a couple of weeks to get these trailers out — we will find a time to get the trailers out as soon as we can. The plan today is by that bye week or after that bye week in October, we should be completely back wide open in this parking lot.”
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