Video: The Cutting of the Ribbon at the LSU Basketball Practice Facility

Tonight, members of the LSU community and staffs of both men’s and women’s basketball programs gathered for a significant event in LSU Athletics history. The grand opening of the new, state-of-the-art LSU Basketball Practice Facility symbolized years of planning and a vision first established by former coaches Dale Brown and Sue Gunter. Here is a video of the ribbon cutting of tonight’s ceremony featuring Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Joe Alleva, President John Lombardi, Chancellor Mike Martin, men’s head coach Trent Johnson, women’s head coach Van Chancellor and Lady Tiger players Latear Eason and Katherine Graham.

We will have more video for you on Friday, including an exclusive interview with former Lady Tiger point guard and 2009 WNBA champion Temeka Johnson. Here are a few facts about the facility:

The LSU Basketball Practice Facility Grand Opening
September 23, 2010

* Project Cost: $13,913,000

* Contractors: Guy Hopkins Construction of Baton Rouge based on the designs by the firm of Tom Holden Architects of Baton Rouge in a joint venture with RDG Sports of Des Moines, Iowa

* Total Project Area: 58,960 square feet of new construction and 1,100 square feet of renovated construction

* Ground broken in on July 1, 2008

* Two state-of-the-art practice gyms each spanning 11,324 square feet; includes a regulation NCAA court in length with two regulation high school courts in the opposite direction

* Each gym has two portable goals and four overhead retractable goals; both are exact replicas of the PMAC competition court

* Each gym can hold up to 800 people for special events

* Each gym features a scoreboard, video filming balcony and scorer’s table with video and date connections to enable instant replay

* A central two story lobby and grand staircase ascends to the second level. The lobby showcases team displays and graphics, trophy cases and memorabilia from the past. The displays and wall graphics were designed by ZE Design of Centerville, Ohio.

* On the second level of the facility is a Pre-Function Room that opens to an extension of the Maravich Center concourse. It can hold approximately 500 people for pre-game and post-game functions.


Posted by Bill Martin