When Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football team trot off the practice grass at Denius Fields for the last time this spring, the head coach won’t exactly be overcome by nostalgia Friday.
Yes, the new practice facility just south of Royal-Memorial Stadium will be done by the start of summer workouts in late July, a Texas source confirmed after Sarkisian spoke to the media Tuesday for the last time in spring football. And, no, Sarkisian won’t miss the logistics of juggling practice on two outdoor fields tucked between Red River Street and I-35 as well as a smaller indoor field known as “The Bubble.”
In fact, Sarkisian — who shares control-freak tendencies with virtually every over coach regardless of the sport — couldn’t help but think back to his former boss at Alabama when asked about the final days of practicing at Denius Fields.
“One of the memories I have is the first time we were outside, and we had to transition to go into the Bubble because of weather and lightning,” Sarkisian said. “It just didn’t dawn on me how long it would take to get 120 players plus staff and video into the Bubble. And I was like, tapping my foot, and I was thinking to myself, ‘If Nick Saban were here today, the top of the Bubble might have blown off.’ Because, as a coach, you want to be efficient.”
Sarkisian and the Longhorns will wrap up their spring football with an open practice Saturday inside Royal-Memorial Stadium that will also serve as a pigskin party of sorts for the fans. The next time Texas lines up to practice, it will either be on the indoor field or one of the outdoor fields at the new facility.
“It’s been a lot of great players that have practiced in the Bubble, but I’m definitely looking forward to moving into the new indoor for sure,” he said. “With the indoor and the practice field being right outside, with the garage doors in and out, the ability to have two fields now side by side, where we can be so efficient in the way we work.… We’re excited about that.”
Denius Fields has served as the practice home of the Longhorns since 1994, and the Bubble popped up in 2002 at a cost of $4 million. The new facility costs about $70 million and is already fully funded through donations and the Longhorn Foundation, which is the fundraising organization for Texas athletics.
The university tore down the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at 1925 San Jacinto Blvd., between the Recreational Sports Center and the Jamail Texas Swimming Center to make room for the new football facility. The demolition came with plenty of controversy considering the building’s history. From 1933 to 1967, the building housed University Junior High School, an education lab and an important pioneer in the desegregation of Austin schools. The former school site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 in recognition of its significance in the development of the university’s campus architecture and educational research, and it also housed “Heart & Soul,” a mural Austin artist Raúl Valdez created in the mid-1990s.