The unveiling of Rutgers' new RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center represents a "tangible commitment" by the school to give sports other than football "some 21st-century tools to compete in high-major college athletics," according to Jerry Carino of the ASBURY PARK PRESS. The $115M facility will be used by four teams -- men's and women's basketball, wrestling and gymnastics. It "includes two gyms for hoops practice (one each for the men's and women's team, complete with 10-seat viewing balconies for spectators), a wrestling room, a gymnastics room, a sports-medicine wing, a dining terrace, a merchandise store for the general public and a parking deck." Funded by a "mix of private sponsorship" -- $18M from RWJBarnabas, a $25M state tax credit, loans and alumni fundraising, it "took three years to build and more or less opened on time." The facility is the "baby" of Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs, who "delivered on his reputation as a basketball guy from his time at Seton Hall." The men's basketball team is the team that "needed this the most," as the "facilities gap between Rutgers and its peers was widest on the men's hardwood" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 9/13). In Newark, Steve Politi writes if Rutgers "wants to have an athletic program that can compete in the Big Ten, it needed a facility that puts its teams on an even footing with the competition." Politi: "Finally, for four teams at least, the Scarlet Knights have that" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/13).
RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center
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