Student-athlete development building planned for Rice Stadium

HOUSTON -- The Rice University Board of Trustees has approved a proposal to build a student-athlete performance and development building in the north end of Rice Stadium that will provide new all-sport strength-and-conditioning, sports medicine and football facilities for the Rice Owls.

The $31.5 million project includes a 60,000-square-foot, two-story structure that will house a weight room, a home team locker room, coaching and staff offices, an auditorium, a football team lounge and areas for training and sports medicine that include hydrotherapy, plunge pools and exam rooms. The weight room and sports medicine areas will be available to student-athletes from all sports at Rice.

"While this new addition to Rice Stadium will improve aspects of the fan experience, it is first and foremost, as it should be, an investment for the benefit of our extraordinary student-athletes," Rice President David Leebron said. "We are committed to the success of our students on the field, off the field and in their professional lives. Over the last several years we have invested in the facilities for many of our sports teams -- basketball, volleyball, swimming and tennis. This investment in football comes at a historic moment as our team heads to Hawaii for Rice's first-ever third consecutive bowl game. We are grateful to Brian Patterson and many others who have made this exciting new facility possible."

Read more from The West University Examiner, a Houston Community Newspaper partner