PROVO -- While the building will not be officially completed until early next month, the BYU football team moved indoors on Monday for a 90-minute workout in preparation for the Boise State game on Thursday.
"With a building like this -- probably the nicest facility of its kind in the country -- we can no longer use weather as an excuse," BYU athletics director Val Hale said.
With smoky conditions outside, and a few players suffering from flu-like symptoms, the Cougars decided to try out the new 106,000 square-foot facility, located just west of the Smith Field house.
"In the past, if it was raining hard, snowing, or was too cold, you could walk by the football office and see a sign that read, 'Practice Cancelled,'" Hale added. "Now, we can just walk across the street and practice as long as we need to."
The facility features a FieldTurf playing surface that is approximately 420 feet wide by 220 feet deep and is divided into a 55-yard field with an endzone that runs east and west, and a 65-yard field with an endzone that runs north and south. There is a retractable goal post with netting at the end of each field.
The roof is 93 feet at it highest point, sloping to 55 feet on the ends. There are also four video platforms located 40 feet above the playing surface.
"We toured many different facilities around the country, doing our homework before we built this," Hale said. "With a lot of help from some very generous people, we have one of the nicest indoor practice facilities in the country, if not the nicest."