Ryan Athletic Center nears completion

Anyone that has ever built a house can empathize with Steve Brace.

Brace, Creighton’s assistant athletic director for internal operations, is supervising the athletic department’s move next month to the university’s new Ryan Athletic Center and D.J. Sokol Arena. Right now, there are too many workers, too much dust and too many things left on the to-do list for Brace to have any degree of comfort.

“We’ve got 32 days left,’’ Brace said, “and I’m wondering how we’re going to get everything in here. There’s still a lot to get done.’’

Brace estimates that about 80 percent of the work on the $19 million office and arena facility has been completed. Creighton has scheduled an Aug. 9 open house for soccer, volleyball and women’s basketball that will give the public a chance to get its first look at the new facility. Move-in date is officially Aug. 10, with an Aug. 28 dedication scheduled. That’s also the day the volleyball team holds the first competition in the building.

Brace conducted a tour Thursday for media representatives of the facility at the corner of 19th and Webster Street, just northwest of the school’s soccer stadium.

Sokol Arena primarily will be used for volleyball and women’s basketball competitions. The Ryan Center will house offices and locker rooms for the two sports as well as men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and softball. Several of the athletic support staffs, including marketing and sports information, will relocate to the Ryan Center. The ticket office will move there from its present location at Morrison Stadium.

A weight room and training room will be located in the facility, as well as storage rooms for each program. Space has been allocated for academic support personnel, although most will remain at the present facility in the Vinardi Athletic Center.

Vinardi will continue to be home for the men’s basketball program as well as tennis, cross country, golf and crew. Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen’s office will remain at Vinardi.

“One of the good things about our present arrangement is that most of our staff is in the same building,’’ Rasmussen said. “Unfortunately, that’s forced us to put 10 gallons of stuff in a five-gallon can. The move to the Ryan Center will ease some of that.

“We’ll have some open offices in the new building, so I see possibly having a satellite office there.’’

The arena will be the jewel of the new building and will seat between 2,500 and 3,000, depending on the event. The hardwood floor is down and the permanent seats are in. Workers were busy Thursday assembling the six portable basketball standards.

Still to be installed are retractable seating on the arena floor, scoreboards and all-important shades on the huge windows at the south end of the arena.

The arena runs north and south. The windows, if shades were not installed, could create a glare problem at that end of the court during daytime competitions.

“We’re thinking about playing in the afternoon and having the visiting team shoot only at that end of the court,’’ Creighton coach Jim Flanery said, chuckling. “Now that would be a great home-court advantage.’’

Said Brace: “I don’t know if the NCAA would buy that one.’’

Creighton has purchased a $44,000 volleyball floor, which will be installed for matches over the basketball court.

“That was Bruce’s idea,’’ Brace said. “He wanted our volleyball program to feel like the arena is its facility when it’s playing matches here. We didn’t want it to seem like volleyball is just playing on the basketball program’s court.’’

In addition to athletic competitions, Brace said, Creighton plans to hold graduations, concerts and other activities in the arena.

The Ryan Center also will house two locker rooms for visiting teams and two for officials. The locker rooms for the six programs that will be housed in the facility will be slightly larger than their present quarters, and will include lounge areas for the players.

The school is using the oak lockers from the present locker rooms.

“The lockers at Vinardi were installed in ’98,,’’ Brace said. “We’ve had to do a little refurbishment but they’ve held up very well.’’

The locker rooms, weight room and training rooms will be on the first floor, with offices for coaches and support staff on the second. A multi-purpose room takes up most of the third floor and is connected to the arena’s upper concourse.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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