PROVO — BYU broke ground on the Marriott Center Annex — a second home for its men’s and women’s basketball programs — late in 2015. But construction of this type of facility had been discussed, and dreamed of, long before that.
“We’ve had visions of this for years and years,” men’s coach Dave Rose said at the groundbreaking ceremonies 15 months ago.
Tuesday night, the school hosted an open house for the recently completed Marriott Center Annex, located directly east of the Marriott Center, to unveil the 38,000-square-foot building. Donors, Cougar Club members and season ticket holders toured the facility.
“This is a day of gratitude for me,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said. “I’m grateful to the university administration and the board of trustees who were incredibly supportive in our efforts to build this remarkable facility. I’m so thankful for their commitment to excellence. I’m also appreciative of the many donors and skilled construction workers who made this dream a reality. This is an exciting day for BYU basketball.”
The Annex connects to the east end of the Marriott Center, adjacent to the BYU Broadcasting Building.
The facility features a replica of the Marriott Center floor, two additional shooting areas on both ends of the court, two HD video boards, a strength and conditioning center, a training room with Cryosauna and hydrotherapy, office suites for the men’s and women’s basketball staff, meeting rooms, team lounge and study areas, and a Hall of Honor that showcases the history and tradition of BYU basketball.
The Marriott Center Annex’s immediate impact has been the convenience of allowing a place for BYU’s teams to practice when there are conflicts at the Marriott Center. Both teams have been using the court at the Annex for months.
“We’ve had a lot of situations this year where the women’s team has been coming home and we’ve been leaving and we both needed to practice at the same time,” said Rose. “We have two courts that that can happen on.”
Beyond that, the Annex, which was fully funded through private donation, will yield even more benefits, such as allowing players to enhance their individual skill development anytime.
“Once the season’s over, it really becomes a workout gym,” Rose said. “Guys have access to it in the morning, afternoon and night. That will really change how we’ve actually operated over the years.”
In the past, Cougar players have had to find other places to practice on their own, like the Richards Building on the opposite end of campus.
“We were in the (Richards Building) over the summer my freshman year a lot and even this past summer,” said sophomore forward Eric Mika. “As much as I love the RB, it’s not nearly as nice as this Annex. We can be there as long as we want, whenever we want, all day, every day, six times a week. It’s really helpful. I’ve noticed after practice, a lot more guys stay after and get shots up because you don’t feel like anything has to be taken down or that we’re rushed to do anything. It’s nice to be in our own little world. We’re super-grateful for it.”
“The Annex is incredible,” said sophomore guard Nick Emery. “I spend countless hours in there, developing my game myself. I’m grateful for our boosters and all of the people who put that together. We couldn’t do it without them. It’s a great addition to BYU basketball.”
“I’m grateful to the BYU administration and the many donors who have worked together to make this practice facility a reality,” BYU women’s coach Jeff Judkins said. “It provides world-class resources to further develop our student-athletes and better prepare them to achieve their goals — both athletically and academically.”
The Marriott Center Annex is also expected boost to recruiting efforts. Most schools boast this type of facility, and BYU had fallen behind the times.
Coaches have talked about this project with recruits “for the last four years,” Rose said.
“Just glad it’s finally here,” he added. “We can stick our flag in the ground and say we have done what we said we were going to do. It really isn’t a factor if you have one. It’s a real factor if you don’t have one.”
When freshman Yoeli Childs signed with BYU, construction on the Annex had just started and the coaches were able to show him architectural renderings of it. The Annex played a factor in his decision to be a Cougar.
“It was really important to me as a recruit to know that I’d have a place to work on my game,” Childs said. “At this school, more so than most schools, it’s huge because we have a lot of guys that are just gym rats, and we have guys in there all the time, almost 24 hours a day, you go in there and someone will be in there working. It’s huge for us.”
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the building on Feb. 7.