Wow. State of the art and out of this world. Sleek, elite and top of the line.
Those are some of sentences listed on the counter of the snack bar in Oregon’s new athletic treatment center. There’s plenty more complimentary phrases, but the aforementioned ones are appropriate for a person’s impressions of the massive new facility upon seeing it for the first time.
Although there’s 14,580 square feet devoted to fit everything an athlete needs for his or her training or recovery regimen, there’s plenty of plush amenities as well.
The entire project, which was privately funded for an undisclosed amount by Phil and Penny Knight and started in mid-August 2006, was completed approximately a year later, much to the delight of the receiving athletes and training staff.
“It’s unreal. It’s one of the nicest facilities in the world. I can’t imagine anything’s nicer than that,” junior football player Max Unger said. “We’re so privileged to have something that’s like that. It has a lot of bells and whistles but all in all, it’s an unbelievable facility.”
The previous treatment center, a comparatively smaller 4,329 square feet, didn’t offer nearly as many of the perks of the new facility which allows its athletes to train in one of three different underwater treadmills where they are able to watch their form on one of the video monitors. Next to the treadmills, which are separated by a wall of water that slides down a glass plain, are the hot and cold water tubs, a place where athletes can soak and cool down after an intense practice while watching ESPN on one of the two high-defintion televisions.
That only begins to tap the surface of the new features. Athletes are now given oral and vision exams, they can have full-body X-rays taken and have a physician look at them immediately. There’s new machines with treadmills that have tank-sized treads, a balance machine and the Bod Pod, where an athlete’s lean-body mass can be measured.
Most importantly, however, it’s an upgrade for a place where athletes can be treated more effectively to get back on to the playing field. Senior football player Ryan DePalo, who suffered a grueling knee injury in the spring, spent plenty of time rehabbing in the new center and made it back on the field in time for the season opener on Sept. 1.
“I could attribute some of my recovery (to the facility) because of the underwater treadmills which helped out a lot with the running,” DePalo said. “I could run without any weight on my legs. It sped some stuff up and it helped with my confidence.”
That, and it’s also a good recruiting tool for potential Oregon athletes. Compared to the old facility, recruits would be far more enamored with the new surroundings.
“It’s night and day. It’s like going into a day spa. It’s amazing,” DePalo said. “I go in there and stay there all day. I do treatment, do my workout, do everything I need to do for rehab and then I go hang out in the hot tub and do whatever right next to the waterfall.”