Drake president David Maxwell, athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb, men’s basketball head coach Ray
Giacoletti, and women’s basketball head coach Jennie Baranczyk will all
briefly speak about the significance of the project
before putting shovels in the ground to celebrate the official start of
construction.
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the
construction site, located at the corner of 25th St. and Forest Ave.,
adjacent to the southeast corner of the Knapp Center. Game-day parking
lots will open at 10 a.m.
“The basketball practice facility allows us to
continue building the foundation for the type of sustained success that
this university deserves,” says Ray Giacoletti, men’s basketball head
coach.
Construction of the $8 million, 39,000-square foot
facility is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014. The facility
will include two full-size courts flanked by auxiliary baskets to make
the most of every minute and square foot dedicated
to practice. Off court, the structure will feature state-of-the-art
locker rooms, video suites, team rooms, and dedicated training
facilities to foster each student-athlete’s physical and mental
development.
In addition to providing the Bulldogs with one of
the top facilities in the country, the structure will help the entire university alleviate scheduling conflicts and provide more available
recreational space for the general student population.
The practice facility is the latest addition to an impressive list of
infrastructure additions and improvements by Drake University as part of
the distinctlyDrake comprehensive campaign.
“At Drake, this facility will help the entire
University with scheduling conflicts that arise between the Knapp Center
and Bell Center,” Giacoletti says. “There are so many events going on
every day that it’s imperative we have more space
for the general student population. It’s two fold in that this will
help men’s and women’s basketball and the students.”
“We want Drake basketball to be an integral part of
the Des Moines community,” says Jennie Baranczyk, women’s basketball
head coach. “For that to happen at the level we envision, we needed to
upgrade our facilities.”
The practice facility will provide Drake’s
basketball programs dedicated space to alleviate scheduling conflicts
while creating an environment that allows the student-athletes and
coaching staff to maximize their practice time and each
student-athlete’s potential. Members of both teams will also
have unlimited individual access to facility to allow them to continue
to fine tune and hone their on-court skills on their own schedule.
Fans are encouraged to cheer on the Bulldogs after
the ceremony when they host Nebraska-Omaha at 1:05 p.m. The Knapp Center
doors will open at 11:15 a.m. and $5 general admission tickets are
available to help celebrate a landmark day in
Drake basketball history.
The following day, Sunday, Nov. 24, the Drake
women’s basketball team returns to the Knapp Center to host in-state
rival Iowa State at 2:05 p.m. for its “Pay it Forward” game. Fans who
bring three cans of non-perishable food to the game
will receive a voucher for free admission to the next women’s
basketball game on Dec. 5 vs. Idaho State.
--Ty Patton, Drake sports information.
