Kennesaw State’s new football offices are temporary, but the university is doing everything to make them feel like they will be the base and brain center for the new team for years to come.
The offices, which opened Oct. 16, are located on Town Point Drive in an industrial complex on the other side of Chastain Road from the campus. A large Kennesaw State logo graces the brick exterior, welcoming guests.
It is less than a five-minute drive to campus or to Fifth Third Bank Stadium, where the Owls will begin play in 2015. The facility is close enough that the players can walk from their residences. The coaches, players and support staff will use these offices for at least the next three years until a permanent facility can be constructed.
“We are proud of this place,” senior associate athletic director Scott Whitlock said. “Not only is it functional, but it’s a showpiece that we can use for recruiting. We didn’t want a place just to get by. We are serious about our commitment (to football) and wanted to demonstrate it with this facility.”
The offices actually are three suites of which football will use 17,000- of the 22,000-square feet of space. The space is allocated by thirds: The defense will use the left side of the area; a large meeting room that can seat 120 occupies the middle; and coach Brian Bohannon, the offense and operations will use the right side.
In the back right corner is an area of 4,500 square feet that will be turned into a weight room. Beside it is an area of 2,500 square feet that will be turned into a speed-and-agility center.
The building features what Bohannon said is state-of-the-art technology. Each meeting room features hi-definition projection TVs and web-cams. The walls are coated with magnetic paint that is wipe-able and allows coaches to write on the walls, or to place magnets for formations or name plates for depth charts.
“The technology is better than anything I’ve been around,” Bohannon said.
Whitlock said construction costs were slightly less than $500,000. The athletic association holds a three-year lease with options to renew. The lease is for slightly more than $110,000 per year.
Whitlock toured facilities at Coastal Carolina and Georgia State, and reviewed the floor plans for what Charlotte was doing, as part of the research for the offices. Bohannon also provided input. Both said they were able to do everything they wanted.
“We had about 60 recruits in, and the response was unbelievable,” Bohannon said. “They said, ‘Wow, this looks like a long-term facility, not a short-term facility.’”
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