UVA Football’s $80 Million Operations Center officially opens

Wrigley Field, Madison Square Garden, the Grand Canyon, and the Virginia Cavaliers Football Operations Center. All places I have never been to but am very much in love with.

Out with the old 15,000 square foot, $10 million McCue Center and in with the new 90,000 square foot, $80 million Football Operations Center. Overdue? Maybe so. But “Virginia now has a first-class, industry-leading facility,” said Head Coach Tony Elliott.

After breaking ground in June of 2022, yesterday was the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $80 million facility. It includes a team locker room, player lounge, training room, recovery room, weight room, sports science and technology center, performance nutrition station, hydration and fueling stations, coaches offices, and more.

The best part of this building is not one of the biggest weight rooms on the East Coast, not the hydration and fuel station that Coach Elliott demanded to be a vital part of this facility, not the first-class locker room, but the tribute to Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler that sits in the facility.

Just an incredible way to honor these players who tragically lost their lives on November 13, 2022. This tremendous gesture will mean a great deal to their families, friends, and the UVA community.

It’s top-of-the-line, and everything about the building and the equipment in it is state-of-the-art. It would be an understatement to say that this facility is huge for the future of the Virginia Football program.

Not to mention, Virginia is hosting a couple of recruits this weekend, and the opening of this beautiful building with all the new shiny toys could not have come at a better time.

Shoutout to Athletic Director Carla Williams, Coach Tony Elliott, President Jim Ryan, the Board of Visitors, the VAF, all of the donors, and anyone else who made this happen.

It’s a new day for Virginia football; here’s to the future!