Cal Poly’s $45 million John Madden Football Center is ready. Here’s a look inside
After about a decade and $45 million, Cal Poly football players finally have a facility to call their own.
The John Madden Football Center, named after the late alum famous for his award-winning coaching and broadcasting career, houses health and nutrition facilities, team meeting rooms, customized locker rooms and a weight training center.
Plus, it’s got a killer view of the southern end zone at Spanos Stadium.
Now-retired Cal Poly athletic director Don Oberhelman, who was integral to the facility’s development over the last 10 years, guided media representatives through the facility on Friday ahead of its official ribbon-cutting on Saturday.
Oberhelman told reporters he feels the football program’s new home base “sends all the right messages” to both current and prospective players, adding that in the past, there’s been a feeling that football was neglected on campus.
“That feeling is gone,” Oberhelman said. “ ... This building does that for them.”
Cal Poly football has a new state-of-the art facility. What’s inside?
John Madden is not just a name on the outside of the new building.
Upon entering the center’s foyer, visitors can immediately spot a statue of Madden sitting in the middle of a bench facing the doors. The statue is meant to be interactive, and guests are welcomed to sit next to him, Oberhelman said.
Directly behind the statue is a ceiling-high mural of the famous coach being carried off the Rose Bowl field after a Super Bowl victory with the Oakland Raiders, Oberhelman said.
Scattered throughout the building are other nods to Madden and notable alumni from Cal Poly football.
Oberhelman said that in one of the gathering spaces onsite, which features cushy seating, TVs, fridges and a view of the field from the south end zone, current players can sometimes be found playing “Madden NFL” — the widely popular football video game that shares a namesake with the building.
Also in the 29,000-square-foot main building is a nutrition center where players can grab smoothies or snacks before or after practice.
Down the hall is a wellness and sports medicine area, linked to hydrotherapy tubs that are directly connected to the locker room and showers — a purposeful design aimed at limiting how often players trail water and chlorine into the main areas, Oberhelman said.
Upstairs are a myriad of meeting rooms and conference areas, including a team room that can double as a classroom for use by other departments.
The building includes several position-based conference areas, where coaches can hold meetings, in addition to communal spaces near expansive windows and a string of outdoor tables that Oberhelman guessed will also be used by athletes and coaches who want to limit their time indoors.
“We live in paradise,” he said, standing on the building’s terrace as the sun beamed behind him on the 74-degree San Luis Obispo day.
On game days, the terrace will likely be used as a viewing deck by donors or other guests, he added.
On the opposite side of the building sits the locker room — and a detached, 5,000-square-foot weight room.
The locker room features a lit Cal Poly logo centered on the ceiling, with several branches of lockers extending to the four corners of the room. Shower facilities are also located onsite.
The lockers each feature three drying fans — one for the helmet, one for the shoulder pads and one for the shoes — Oberhelman said. The look of the lockers was customized by Cal Poly players during the design process, he added.
Outside, athletes were already actively using the detached weight room. That building features roll-top doors and tailored facilities and equipment inside.
While speaking with reporters after the tour, Oberhelman said he believes the building’s utility is not limited to football players, predicting that around 50 students could work in the building each year — ranging from those studying kinesiology to nutrition to sports medicine.
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