Details Now out about Colts’ Facility Upgrades

The Indianapolis Colts have announced details about the much needed upgrades coming to their training facility, the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.

Last fall, the team announced its plans to expand, but now, we’re getting further details thanks to this piece from Andrew Walker of Colts.com.

Among the new features are upgrades to the team’s sports medicine and rehabilitation facilities, a revamped weight room, locker room and recovery area as well as a much bigger kitchen.

Overall, here are the changes listed by the team:

• “A newly designed training, treatment and rehabilitation area, adding about 2,500 square feet of space.
• An expanded weight room with top-of-the-line strength and conditioning equipment.
• A football-shaped locker room, nearly 60 percent larger than the current one, featuring improved lockers, showers and restroom areas.
• A new hydrotherapy room, housing a recovery pool and hot and cold plunge pools.
• An expanded equipment room that will double in size, allowing for more efficient workspace and storage.
• Renovated Football Operations office space, meeting rooms and classrooms, including a new, larger “war room.”
• An updated kitchen, nearly triple the size of the current one, providing team nutritionists and caterers the facilities to provide the most healthy food service for players, coaches and staff.
• A new community pavilion, which will connect to and have views into the team’s indoor practice facility.”

You can expect changes like this to be a big draw for free agents to the Colts, especially once the work is completed. It is similar to how outstanding, modern facilities help bring in top recruits in college football. A clear commitment to excellence will make players think they can maximize themselves with this team and want to come be part of the Colts organization.

The whole bit about focusing on the training/rehab/sports medicine side is music to Colts fans’ ears as well, as the team seems to get decimated by injury every single year. Hopefully, that, along with the addition of Director of Sports Performance Rusty Jones, will bring some positive changes in the health of Colts players.

Last September, the Colts announced they are moving training camp to Grand Park in Westfield, IN for the next 10 years, which is a state-of-the-art sports complex on the north side of town, roughly 30 minutes from the training facility. The renovations to the Colts’ 30-year-old facility, and training camp move finally catch up with the Colts’ Sunday gridiron, Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened its doors in 2008 and is one of the nicer, more modern stadiums in the NFL.

If you’ve driven by the Colts’ complex any time in the last several months, you may have noticed that construction has already begun on the front of the building. Any work that affects football operations will be completed by this August before the regular season begins, and all else will be finished by the start of 2019.

For anyone worrying about the tax payers’ dollars, this whole thing is being completely funded by Colts owner Jim Irsay. For any non-Colts fans visitors we have here right now, please take note of the type of things that Irsay does in order to better his team. Among the worst owners in sports? I think not. He is actually among the best.