Huskers Excited for New Indoor Practice Facility

Nebraska Head Softball Coach Rhonda Revelle is a master of multi-tasking. As such, she enjoys crossing items off her “to-do” list, and Revelle has been busy crossing a lot of items off her list lately.

Lead Nebraska to its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in the past 16 seasons: Check.

Add another player to Nebraska’s nation-leading total of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans: Check.

Make arrangements to attend her induction ceremony into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame: Check.

But as she has checked items off her list, there was one remaining item that Revelle was waiting patiently to cross off: Begin construction on a new indoor practice facility.

The wait is over.

On Friday, Oct. 15, the Nebraska Board of Regents unanimously approved the construction of a $4.75 million Haymarket Indoor Practice Facility. The facility will be utilized by both the Husker softball and baseball teams and will be conveniently located beyond the right-field fence at Bowlin Stadium, located only a few feet from the Huskers’ locker room, clubhouse, athletic medicine facilities and coaches’ offices.

“We believe this is a huge benefit for our program and we couldn’t be happier,” Revelle said. “We already play our games in one of the nation’s best stadiums, and now we will have one of the nation’s best practice facilities as well. It’s very exciting for us and we’re all very appreciative of the tremendous support that we continue to receive from Athletic Director Tom Osborne and all of our athletic staff.”

Construction on the Haymarket Indoor Practice Facility is scheduled to begin this November, with a targeted completion date of September 2011. The 22,000-square foot building will feature a large indoor practice area, along with restrooms and storage facilities.

The practice area will have an open design, with 18,000 square feet of usable space. The space will be lined with netting, allowing for the entire area to be used for live batting practice and game simulation.

The facility will also feature at least six retractable batting cages. The batting cages will be large enough to allow for batters to face pitchers in live simulation at the correct pitching distance. When not in use, the cages can be easily retracted to allow for use of the entire space.

“The setup of this new facility is going to be terrific,” Revelle said. “Along with its proximity to our field and locker room, it will give our players all the tools they need to train to be champions, while also giving them the flexibility to schedule workout sessions around their class schedule.

“The beauty of this facility is that it benefits our players as athletes and it benefits our players as students.”

The area around the new hitting complex will also feature extensive landscaping to help Bowlin Stadium keep its picturesque setting nestled next to Hawks Field, in the backdrop of Memorial Stadium. The architecture will also match the existing structures of the Haymarket Park Complex, a sparkling $30 million facility that Nebraska first called home for the 2002 season.

That year, Nebraska won an NCAA Regional and advanced to the Women’s College World Series. But the Huskers’ path to Oklahoma City that season went through Iowa City and the University of Iowa, which brings Revelle to another benefit of the new facility.

“This facility will really be huge in our ability to host an NCAA Regional or Super Regional,” Revelle said. “With multiple teams playing on the same day, it’s critical to provide an adequate warm-up facility near the stadium. With the addition of this facility, combined with our stadium and the support of our fans, I think we will be a really attractive host site to the NCAA Selection Committee. And when you are playing big games, with big stakes on the line, it always helps to be playing at home.

“There are just so many ways this facility will positively impact our program for years to come. It’s a very exciting time to be a Husker.”