University of Maryland’s historic Cole Field House set to debut treatment center, entrepreneurship academy by 2019

In August 2017, University of Maryland’s brand new indoor football facility opened to much applause and fanfare. The historic Cole Field House basketball arena in College Park, Maryland, was redeveloped by architecture firm CannonDesign, and in response, Maryland Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said, “This is a game-changer for our university.” According to the Washington Post, the University of Maryland became the last football program in the Big Ten to have an indoor practice field. Even with this, there is still so much more to expect.

This project, costing approximately $45 million, is only the first phase of what is expected to be the largest fundraising project in the history of this university. The total $155 million undertaking will also include a treatment center, a center for researchers from UM Baltimore and UM College Park to lead advanced studies together, and an academy for students to launch ideas, products, and companies. The delivery is slated for September 2019.

Along with a full-sized indoor football field, two outdoor fields, a dining facility, and hydrotherapy center in the Terrapin Performance Center, the Orthopedic Clinical Treatment Center will feature more than 40,000 square feet of dedicated treatment space. This space will be run by University of Maryland, Baltimore, and will provide support to athletes. Additionally, this center will offer an imaging suite with high-end devices like an MRI machine.

For the Center for Sports Medicine, Health, and Human Performance, university researchers will lead advanced studies focused on concussion and traumatic brain injury, genomics, brain imaging, and other field related to injury prevention and rehabilitation. This center will not solely be oriented to sports and athletics as there will also be a bioengineering component for researchers to develop apparatuses and prosthetics. There are also plans for a sleep lab in order to test how brain injuries affect sleep patterns.

Students at the University of Maryland will be able to have access to experiential-learning opportunities through the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. They will be able to collaborate with researchers and faculty members for their projects. There will also be a separate student incubator space to develop software or devices.

Construction on the Cole Field House began in December 2015. One of the major donors of the project is Maryland graduate and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who contributed $25 million.

While not listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it’s still considered historic, dating back to 1955. Some of the most notable events that have happened here include a 1966 NCAA men’s basketball championship game win by Texas Western over Kentucky and a 1971 ping-pong game that helped break down diplomatic barriers with China.

• Cole Field House [Official Website]

• Cole Field House [CannonDesign]

• Maryland unveils gleaming new indoor football practice field [The Washington Post]

• Maryland officially opens new Cole Field House indoor practice facility [The Baltimore Sun]

• Basketball out, football in at the newly renovated University of Maryland Cole Field House [WTOP]