| :: Overview,
accessibility & parking
During the 2002 football season, the Longhorns' first-class
program got an upgrade with the addition of yet another state-of-the-art
facility within the Longhorns football program the
indoor practice facility or "the bubble" as the
players call it was one of the main reasons UT enjoyed
another successful season. With the help of its new facility,
the Horns posted their second consecutive 11-win campaign
(a first in school history), the SBC Cotton Bowl Championship
and a share of the Big 12 South title. Head coach Mack Brown
credits part of the team's success in 2002 on the program's
newest addition in the fall. Built at a cost of $4 million,
construction on the facility began on May 14 and was completed
five months later in time for the Longhorns' tough stretch
of October road games. The remainder of the cosmetic construction
brickwork, fencing and landscaping was completed
six weeks later. Heery International, based out of Atlanta,
served as the architect for the project. Hensel Phelps of
Austin constructed the multi-purpose facility, while Yeadon
Fabric Domes, Inc., added the three-layer outer bubble, which
is inflated by a compressor. There also is a gas-based backup
system that continually blows air in event of an extended
power outage. The climate-controlled facility, which also
is used by other UT athletics teams and the Longhorn Band,
takes up more than 70,000 square feet and is 61 feet high
at its peak. It has a full AstroPlay football field and a
set of goal posts in the north end zone. Not only do the Longhorns
now have full-squad workouts inside the new facility, but
they also have worked on all phases of the kicking game, a
much-needed luxury they did not have before last season. |