Gossett Basketball Performance Center Breaks Ground
Facility Will House Practice Court, Locker Rooms, Strength and Conditioning Areas, and More
Head men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard and head women’s coach Brenda Frese form a temporary construction crew to break ground on the Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center, the teams’ new practice facility, on Thursday outside the Xfinity Center.
Photos by Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins; renderings courtesy of Maryland Athletics
As a shot clock reached zero outside the Xfinity Center on Thursday, a giant banner dropped to reveal Maryland’s two head basketball coaches taking charge, but not of their teams. Brenda Frese and Kevin Willard each grinned from behind the wheels of a giant excavator, and right on cue, both dug into a mound of dirt in front of them.
Former Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams ’68, UMD President Darryll J. Pines, head women’s coach Brenda Frese, head men’s coach Kevin Willard, longtime Athletics supporter Barry P. Gossett, alum and ESPN host Scott Van Pelt, and Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Damon Evans at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The temporary construction crew’s inaugural scoops, which were met by cheers and confetti, marked the official groundbreaking for the Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center, a new practice facility for the University of Maryland men’s and women’s basketball teams.
ESPN host and Maryland alum Scott Van Pelt emceed the event, which featured remarks from UMD President Darryll J. Pines, Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Damon Evans, Gossett, Willard and Frese.
Evans thanked Gossett for his continued support of the Terrapins, as well as several other individuals who have been committed to Athletics’ success: Brooke Butler-Wagner, Billy Greenblatt, and Harvey and Ellen Sanders.
“Today is a transformational day for Maryland Athletics and specifically Maryland men’s and women’s basketball,” said Evans. “We have storied basketball programs at the University of Maryland, and this facility will be a catalyst for future success representing the best possible environment for our student-athletes to succeed academically, athletically and socially.”
The 44,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the Xfinity Center will create a new landmark on the northern edge of the Maryland campus. It will feature a dedicated practice court for the teams, a strength and conditioning facility, expanded locker rooms with cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art athletic training areas with hydrotherapy, and dedicated space for film study and game-planning, as well as large lounge areas and office space for both coaching staffs.
The Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center, a 44,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the Xfinity Center, is slated to open prior to the Fall 2025 semester.
“This facility will help us continue to attract the best-of-the-best: the best students, the best athletes, and the best people,” said Frese.
It will also benefit other sport programs at Maryland, allowing upgraded locker rooms, sports medicine areas, and coaching spaces within the Xfinity Center as well as the expansion of programming space. Additionally, the Xfinity Center itself will be available to accommodate more special events, a boon to the entire campus community.
“This is one of the most important days of Maryland basketball because it’s giving men’s and women’s basketball a place to call home—a place to eat as a family, a place to train as a family, a place to stay after practice and watch games as a family,” Willard said.
A dedicated practice court for the men’s and women’s basketball teams is one of several features that will be housed in the new facility.
The project is being led by Clark Construction with architectural firm Gensler serving as design consultant. Construction is expected to be complete prior to the Fall 2025 semester.
The Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center is one of several current and upcoming facility projects targeted at improving Maryland Athletics. The new Field Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse Complex will officially open prior to Fall 2023. Other projects include the Stanley Bobb Baseball Development Center, the Softball Player Development Center, the Golf Development Center, a track and field stadium, a soccer stadium and renovations to Gossett Hall.
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