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The Tuscaloosa News
What does new Alabama basketball facility mean for new arena? What Greg Byrne said
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- What does new Alabama basketball facility mean for new arena? What Greg Byrne said
A new Alabama basketball practice facility is in the works, and it's estimated to cost about $57 million.
The physical properties committee for the UA System Board of Trustees met Thursday and voted to approve the 48,000 square-foot facility. Now, it will go to the entire board to vote on it Friday.
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It's a first step, so there's still plenty to do. But what does it mean for the progress of the new basketball arena?
"So right now we're focused on the new practice facility," Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne told The Tuscaloosa News. "We're focused on trying to navigate the waters of college athletics right now and the uncertainty with the House litigation and such making sure we don't put our institution in a bad financial position. And then Coleman (Coliseum) isn't getting any younger, and it will need to be addressed. But this gives us a big step forward for our program in the meantime."
When the new arena was announced, the proposed cost was $183 million. Then by the following summer, the cost had jumped to $250 million because of inflation, per Byrne.
If that didn't complicate things enough, the finalization of the House settlement will add a massive wrinkle to it. Alabama and all other collegiate athletics departments will need to make room in the budget to share revenue with athletes.
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"I think we have a responsibility to, until we know what we're working with, be fiscally responsible with our resources," Byrne said at SEC spring meetings. "(A new arena) is still a need. We've had people donate and give us nice gifts for it. We don't want to lose that. And we know Coleman is not getting any younger. It still needs to be addressed. But I think being slow and steady right now is probably valuable."
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Byrne said the plan is to break ground in the fall on the new practice facility and the hope is to have it fully operational by the 2026 season.
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"Right now, this is a really good step for our program," Byrne said. "And both Coach (Nate) Oats and Coach (Kristy) Curry are very pleased about what this means moving forward."
At this juncture, Alabama has the ability to build a new practice facility relatively soon, something that is a need and a place coaches and players spend a majority of their time. So, Alabama is moving forward toward building the new facility in the short-term.
"The practice gym is the coach's classroom," Byrne said "It's where they teach and they develop. We're doing this right now to take a very significant step for our basketball programs and then allowing us to navigate the waters that we're in in college athletics right now. Then realizing the arena still has to be addressed."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter .
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball practice facility: What it means for new arena
