Rutgers Football: NEW Practice Facility Photo Gallery, v.4

It’s getting closer...and looking better

By rvc73@scarknight Jul 20, 2017, 6:30am EDT

When the Rutgers Operations guys start tweeting, it’s usually a sign of some significant changes. And that means I need to take a drive over to see what’s going on.

Layout set. Holes being drilled for the main Marco Battaglia Practice Complex sign this afternoon. Can't wait for this one ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/9ICl4teMxa
— RU Facilities & Ops (@RU_Operations) July 18, 2017

So, as a service to our readers, we made the trek (okay, it’s like 10 miles and a 15 minute drive) over to see the progress on the Marco Battaglia Football Training Complex. But first, a quick look inside the lobby of the Hale Center. Checking on uniforms. There were two, one red, one white. Simple. Clean. Fine for the first year with adidas, which include numbers on the shoulder pad area seen here, as well as the New Jersey logo on the back.

And the closeup....

On to the actual practice complex. The main entryway is starting to look very handsome. The way it should have looked....forever!

They are clearly close to completion of the grounds. They’ve been paving some perimeter areas, as well as starting to landscape inside the complex.

View down Sutphen Road from the area near Athletes Glen. The Visitor Center would be to the left.

The focus had to be on the redevelopment of the fields: new drainage and irrigation. After that the enclosure and finally the “backstage” areas. That’s what’s seen as you walk around the complex. The front - what people see - is being addressed now, with more urgency. The back side, from the Hale Center parking lot, is not as advanced in its completion. It certainly looks, though, as if it will be on time.

Entry to the turf field part of the complex. Note the new lighting

View from the turf entrance. The two pylons rising next to the storage building will be the supports for a scoreboard. And the turf is not wanting for water!

Speaking of scoreboards, the components are on site. Whether this is for the one by the storage building or the one with the video board is not certain. But it does allow for scoring by both sides, home and guest

Going around to the back of the complex, the work is progressing but with the finishing touches still a ways off.

Stairs leading up to the field are taking shape

The gift of Amy and Jeff Towers is moving ahead with great purpose. It is a giant step forward in making Rutgers look like a major player, and it will certainly be an enticement for recruits. And just as the photo at the top of this post and the one below show, we have come a long way from “then” to “now”.

The facility’s opening is Sunday, August 6.

Meanwhile, inside HPSS....

I love the Operations people. If it wasn’t for them, we’d know nothing about the progress of this facility, aside from the updates Jeff Towers tweets out. But they also tweeted out about the new turf inside the stadium.

Lots of progress inside High Point Solutions Stadium! New @FieldTurf looking sharp pic.twitter.com/vEdseaX0kX
— RU Facilities & Ops (@RU_Operations) July 18, 2017

The actual playing surface - the field - is in place. The perimeter has yet to be installed. Also not in yet: yard numbers, endzone wording (will we get “New Jersey” in one of them?), and other logos, such as High Point Solutions. Usually straight lines - what is there now and what can be rolled out easily - are part of the turf. The letters and numbers, with their curves, often either get painted on or cut and sewn later.

And something for the “To Do” list

As I walked around the Hale Center parking lot I noticed the retaining wall between a fenced in parking area - now a staging area for construction - and the tennis courts has a bit of a problem. Like bulging and eroding. Forgive the sepia tone photos - I have no idea what I did. But they might want to take a look at that wall. Just offering my help.