Gophers unveil Athletes Village worth $166 million

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - The Gophers gave a tour of their new athletics facilities Saturday. 

The Athletes Village was a sight to behold. In the competitive world of college recruiting, the University believes that the $166 million facility will give them an advantage over their Big Ten rivals. 

The state-of-the-art village will change the lives of student athletes by providing them with everything from football and basketball development and performance centers, to an academic center. Within the Land O’Lakes Center for Excellence there are academic, leadership and nutrition centers. 

The University said a facility like this was long overdue. 

“It was a matter of catching up because we had let our facilities—we had just kind of let them be for too long,” said Associate Athletic Communications Director Jake Ricker. “Not enough upgrades, not enough new. The facilities that flank the Athlete’s Village were built in 1972 and 1985. If you think back to 1972 that predates title nine.”

The new facilities are expected to give the Gophers a big boost when it comes to recruiting future athletes to the U of M. 

“You don’t really see this at other universities,” said student athlete Destiny Pitts. “When I went on my visits I had never seen anything like this. To come into something like this, I mean I don’t understand how you’d say no.”