HOK has announced plans for a new seven-story football operations center to be located at the heart of the University of Miami's campus in Coral Gables, Florida.

Working alongside local mainstays Arquitectonica, the pair will deliver a new 172,000-square-foot facility beset with amenities for student-athletes and connected to the school’s existing Carol Soffer Indoor practice field that was completed five years ago. The school is trying to market itself as an elite national powerhouse to recruits and will do so with the new performance-driven Hurricanes complex, which rivals others designed recently for its in-state rival Florida Gators, LSU, and the new national champion Georgia Bulldogs. 

The first floor of the building will feature a public lobby, locker rooms, nutrition center, and dining hall. It will be followed by an “immersive digital experience” aimed at wooing prospective athletes on the second floor, while the next three contain a wellness center, spa, training facilities, and a coaches’ locker room/fitness center successively. 

Finally, coach and staff offices, a film room, and a 7,500-square-foot roof terrace complete the structure with a golf simulator, lounge, and 360-degree views of the campus all on offer. As the school's Athletic Director, Dan Radakovich, said: “Competing in the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics requires creative thinking and bold investments.”

“The University of Miami wants to enroll the very best students in all walks of life and investing in facilities is critical to recruit and retain the very best,” he continued. “Facilities serve as a tangible, transformative representation of our overall investment and commitment to success, and this new football operations center speaks to the promise of Miami building championship programs.”

Project costs and a construction timeline were not available at press time.