Work underway on Saint Vincent's new athletic complex
In little over a year, students at Saint Vincent College will have a brand new athletic complex to utilize.
The Dunlap Family Athletic and Recreation Center is a multi-million-dollar project at the school, and when it is completed, it will not only be utilized by the student athletes, but also by the Pittsburgh Steelers during training camp.
With the steel going in at the construction site at Saint Vincent College, the word is getting out about the massive athletic complex that's being built. It's an athletic complex that the school is saying is going to be a game changer.
What was once a practice field at Saint Vincent College is slowly morphing into what will soon be the Dunlap Family Athletic and Recreation Center.
Everyone on campus seems to be buzzing about the new space, including sophomore football player Will Mueller.
"I've heard some really amazing things about it," Mueller said. "I have heard that they are going to be adding really good features in here. I think every sports team can use this facility in any way, shape or form, and I am really excited to get in there in the winter and get some really nice work in."
By the summer of 2026, when it is completed, the almost 80,000-square-foot state-of-the-art sports complex will feature 70 yards of an indoor turf football field, basketball and tennis courts, batting cages, workout rooms, locker rooms, a giant indoor track and a smoothie bar.
Father Paul Taylor, the president of Saint Vincent College, says they are grateful to the Dunlap Family, who put up a majority of the over $20 million needed to build the complex.
He also said that not only will Saint Vincent students and members of the nearby community be able to use this new space, but the Pittsburgh Steelers will likely take it over when they are on campus for training camp.
"You know Coach Tomlin, he loves the heat and conditioning for the players and of course they love it for the fans being outside," said Father Paul. "But once and a while there's a rainy day, so they are going to probably use it on those rainy days to be inside, because they have to get those practices in. They need to prepare for the season to get that Lombardi."
Now it is important to note that the construction will be going on this summer while the Steelers are in town, but the school says they don't anticipate the construction of the new athletic complex will interfere with fans coming out to see the team in any way.
For more information on the project, click here.
