COLUMBIA, S.C. — Recently The USC football team revealed their new door facility to their players. Today the Gamecock track and field program unveiled their remodeled indoor track and field facility.
For years the indoor building adjacent to Stone Stadium held practices for baseball, softball, tennis and football along with track.
Now head coach Curtis Frye and his team have one of three indoor facilities for track and field athletes in all of the SEC. It took about 24 months to complete and more will be added.
The indoor complex has everything it needs to hold events and it will be put to the test this weekend as USC will host it's inaugural indoor track and field meet this weekend.
Aliyah Abrams has been in the program for four years now and the USC sprinter remembers what it was like before this indoor track was available. She says there's a different energy surrounding the team now.
"This is indoor facility is top of the line. It's great. I remember seeing them put it together in each stage and when it opened players came in and took pictures for friends and family. It was exciting, Abrams said. "It just puts us in a position to do our best."
Along with the Cregger Outdoor track, which is only couple of year old, this new facility will be another game changer for program. Coach Frye says the facility will help reduce injuries and athletes can develop and work on their technique and times during days of inclement weather. It will also be a place to host various track and field events including the SEC indoor championships.
"It gives our kids an equal opportunity as a Texas A&M, as Arkansas and those are the places that you go to run fast. Clemson was one of the tracks where they can practice on the inside so these will give our kids an equal opportunity that those facilities have."
The Gamecock Inaugural starts this weekend with events starting Friday morning.
Olympic silver medalist and World Champion Justin Gatlin is slated to run Saturday as he begins his farewell tour in professional track. So it will be star studded event at USC's indoor facility.