Following the open viewing window of Ohio State's opening day of football practice on Friday, Ohio State director of athletics communications Jerry Emig gave a tour of the newly renovated east wing of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to the media before head coach Ryan Day addressed the media later Friday morning.
The WHAC is where Ohio State football coaches work on a day-to-day basis and serves primarily as the football practice center, though other sports are based in and practice in the facility as well.
After the $7.8 million project was proposed in 2017, construction began in March 2018 and was scheduled to end in December. Day gave a sneak peek into what the renovations looked like in March.
Friday was the first opportunity the media had to see the finished product, though, which features a new dining and kitchen area, a new lounge, a basketball court with arcade games on the lower level and a view of the weight room from the lounge. The hallways were also renovated, featuring an NFL wall, a couple uniform display stations, a small lounge and walls dedicated to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry and the 2012 undefeated team.
Ohio State giving us a tour of the newly renovated Woody Hayes Athletic Center now. Some of the activities that players can enjoy: pic.twitter.com/xEZKmKnuiI
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 2, 2019
Each position has a designated meeting room featuring a recent Buckeye.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) August 2, 2019
Quarterbacks: J.T. Barrett
Specialists: Cameron Johnston
Offensive line: Pat Elflein
Running backs: Ezekiel Elliott pic.twitter.com/B3tloTOImu
“The new addition is huge for us. It's really catapulting us in recruiting, which is really important,” Day said when asked about the facility renovations on Friday. “We say we give and create an environment which is one of the best in the country in terms of taking care of a student-athlete on the field, off the field ... With something like that, it's huge. Guys come in here, they can spend all day, play arcades, shoot baskets, play on the golf simulator, they can recover on the cryo. We want them to feel like this is their home.”
See a more expanded view of the renovations in the gallery above.
