Details unveiled for Alabama’s new $58 million basketball practice facility.
Alabama’s new basketball practice facility was submitted to the University of Alabama board of trustees’ physical property committee.
Alabama’s proposed new basketball practice facility will cost $58.674 million, according to project data submitted to the university’s board of trustees on Thursday.
New bond sales will cover $36.9 million of the expenditure, with the remaining $21.7 million supported by $1.7 million in reserve money and $20 million in Crimson Standard gifts.
The project will add a 48,800-square-foot enlargement to the current practice facility, which is located at the southern end of Coleman Coliseum. The new area will be used for men’s basketball, while 19,000 existing square feet will be refurbished to accommodate the women’s basketball team, which presently trains in Foster Auditorium.
“As a program, we spend a majority of our time in the practice gym, the weight room and studying film, so the potential for us to have a new and expanded space for our student-athletes to develop is big for our program,” Nate Oats, the men’s basketball coach, stated in “We have received fantastic support from our administration, which has contributed to our success, and I would want to thank the Board of Trustees, Interim Chancellor Trant and President Bell, as well as Greg Byrne and Shane Lyons, for pushing this forward. I’d also like to thank our donors and followers for everything they do for us.”
According to a presentation made to the trustees, the project will include “new sports medicine spaces, film and team meeting rooms, locker rooms, lounges, and coaches staff areas for men and women,” as well as a new practice facility and weight room for men.
“Each team will have a dedicated practice gym and weight room space, which is where our programs spend the majority of their time, meaning this project will have an incredible impact on both of our basketball programs,” Greg Byrne, the sports director, told the trustees “Coach Oats and Coach [Kristy] Curry are extremely supportive of this plan as a positive and valuable next step for their respective teams and they’ve both expressed this is the highest priority at this time, and the facility will meet an immediate need as we continue to work toward long-term priorities for our basketball programs.”
The trustees did not see any architectural designs for the new building, which will be located southeast of the current Coleman Coliseum. Byrne stated that building on the project will begin this autumn, and that “after the start of the ’26 calendar year, hopefully during that season, both teams will be able to be in their practice areas, locker room space, and weight room space, and fully operational at that point.”
The project will have no impact on Coleman Coliseum, and plans to build a new basketball facility are still on hold.
“Understandably the fans on a day-to-day basis, when they interact with the basketball program here on our campus, they go to Coleman Coliseum — that’s what they see,” Byrne stated to the trustees. “Our young men and young women in both programs spend 90 percent of their time in the practice gym and weight room for basketball development. This will be a really great addition for Coach Oats, Coach Curry, and our basketball programs in the future.”
On Thursday, the finance committee approved the bond sale for the practice facility and other projects, and the physical properties committee approved the construction plan. The full board of trustees will vote on the issues Friday morning.
