Construction Underway On Univ. Of Memphis Men's Basketball Facility

Construction "officially gets underway this week" on the Univ. of Memphis' new 58,000-square-foot men's basketball training facility. The $20M project "is expected to be completed" before the '17-18 season and will "include coaches' offices, an academic support center, locker rooms, a weight room, training and practice facilities and a large entryway that will highlight the program's history." Former UM player Bill Laurie and his wife, Nancy, donated an "athletic department-record" $10M toward the project in '13 (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 7/3).

Meanwhile, sources said that the Univ. of Houston is "expecting to receive" a $20M donation from Board of Regents Chair Tilman Fertitta to "help rebuild the school's basketball arena and put his name on it." Fertitta, the Landry's restaurants company Founder & CEO, would give $20M toward the $60M project (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/4).