Weber State University’s athletic department and the Weber County Ice Sheet are confident they will break ground this fall on a new indoor training facility. The plans include a new weight room, classrooms and a turf field.

The new building will be located just south of the Weber County Ice Sheet.

“When we shifted our focus to an indoor facility, in conjunction with the county, it took precedence and priority,” said Jerry Bovee, athletic director at WSU. “Our focus has been to work towards a facility that we will have indoor access to for all of our sports, but in particular football, softball and soccer.”

Bovee also said the new facility will expand athletics operations to strengthen and train the student athletes. Both Athletics and the Ice Sheet have the opportunity to obtain something they both have been working for in a more affordable way.

“It gives us both an opportunity to collaborate together to get a facility that is workable and useable for both of us,” Bovee said. “It’s a little bit of economy’s scale to work together to get what we both need in a fiscally responsible way.”

Bovee said they are hoping to use the facility for things besides training the student athletes. They hope to host pre-game parties for students, academic classes, and cultural, community and campus events.

“The upside is huge as to what we’d be able to do there,” Bovee said. “We hope it will provide us the opportunity to do stuff for the students, pre-game parties and different events before basketball games. Our sports teams will have the opportunity to get indoors. We hope to get to a point where academic classes can utilize the space. We hope we can have community events, Wildcat club events and other campus events.”

This project will make WSU the only school in the Big Sky Conference with an indoor facility specifically for training and practices.