The University of Oregon has filed a permit with the city of Eugene to build a $19.2 million sports science center.
The Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Complex, named for the school's 2014 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, will be built with funds provided by Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and his wife Penny, The Eugene Register-Guard reports.
University trustees approved plans in September for the 29,000-square-foot center. The project will convert locker rooms and storage space on the first floor of the Casanova Center, a campus athletic facility, into a sports science facility.
“The facility is really based on trying to objectively measure things we currently measure subjectively, as well as provide resources we currently don’t have that we know are important for recovery,” says Greg Skaggs, the university's director of athletic medicine.
Among the new equipment will be 3D motion capture technology to measure characteristics such as range of motion and identify possible inefficiencies. The center also will have a neurocognitive center, which will help diagnose and treat concussion symptoms.
The project also will upgrade the equipment room at the Casanova Center. Work on the facility upgrades is expected to begin early next year, and the center is scheduled to be completed in September 2016.
