Board of Trustees approves Athletics facility upgrades

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University's Board of Trustees gave final approval Friday to player development improvements for baseball at Plainsman Park, softball at Jane B. Moore Field, and enhancements to the locker rooms at Auburn Arena.

"The Auburn family is a passionate group demonstrated by its generous philanthropy in support of these capital projects," Director of Athletics Allen Greene said. "I applaud President Leath and the Board of Trustees for their unwavering commitment to invest in the holistic experience of our student-athletes. The linchpin to sustained success is the constant improvement of our physical footprint, including facility upgrades and new construction. Broadly speaking, our student-athletes deserve to train in world-class facilities and our fans expect a "best-in-class" game day experience. As we raise the bar within our conference and beyond, our journey to create and execute a facilities master plan that excites the Auburn fan base is unequivocally in motion."

The baseball facility enhancements, a 10,000-square foot addition next to right field, will include indoor batting cage tunnels and player evaluation spaces.

"We've been blessed in the first two years with the field renovation, the lights, scoreboard and seats," Auburn baseball coach Butch Thompson said. "This is our next big step, and it's a step in the direction of player development. It will improve our workspace, especially in inclement weather, allowing us to hit inside. It's a player development investment that will benefit every player in our program."

The softball improvements include a 10,000-square foot facility along the first-base line featuring an indoor infield, and retractable nets for hitting when the infield is not in use.

"The indoor facility is going to have a huge impact," Auburn softball coach Mickey Dean said. "It gives us the ability to work on things when it's cold, when it's raining. It's also a place student-athletes can go if they want to work on their own."

Auburn Arena upgrades will include new entry lobbies for men's and women's basketball, an expanded locker room area, team meeting space and team lounge for men's basketball.

"I'm grateful to the Board of Trustees, President Leath and our Director of Athletics for continuing to invest in our basketball program," men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said. "As we gain credibility and competitiveness, we're attracting high level student-athletes and we need to provide the space and facilities to help train them. These improvements will go a long way toward that end."

As Dr. Steven Leath said in his Installation, Auburn University is on the move.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer