As the NC State Wolfpack prepares for its first game of the season, it will be prepping in a brand new homebase. During the summer, the Wolfpack opened the Close-King Indoor Practice Facility right across the street from the Dail Outdoor Practice Facility. With the new facility, alongside the new Talley Student Union, the Pack will look to attract new recruits to use them.
The project was funded privately for $14 million, according to The News & Observer.
Defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen thinks that the facility will have a great effect on the recruitment of future Wolfpack recruits.
“It is phenomenal,” Nielsen said. “When you go in that facility, it is an unbelievable facility.”
In addition to being privately funded by the Wolfpack Club, the new facility will feature clerestory windows for natural light to flow in, remote-controlled video cameras and a full 120-yard field with suspended goal posts, according to NC State Athletics. However, one slight drawback with the facility is that it does not currently have heat or air conditioning.
Many of the current athletes, including senior running back Shadrach Thornton, are expecting the facility to pay big dividends in the future, according to The News & Observer.
“Not many colleges have an indoor facility,” Thornton told The News & Observer. “That’s one way we kind of separate ourselves from other schools.”
Along with the completion of the Wolfpack’s new practice field, the renovations to the Talley Student Union were completed earlier this summer, adding brand new facilities to the building.
The new student union will also have a vast variety of food options such as the 1887 Bistro.
Talley Student Union, which began construction and renovation planning in 2010, has been described as place for students to hang out and “a fancy department store,” according to The News & Observer. Renovations officially began in the summer of 2011 and finally concluded in the summer of 2015. Additionally, returned to its old location in Talley Student Union after spending the past few years in Harrelson Hall.
Combined with the new practice facility, Nielsen thinks Talley Student Union will also help with the improvement of recruiting. The foundation of a modern student union is a popular convenience for students, athletes and employees alike.
“Talley is beautiful,” Nielsen said. “I haven’t been there in person yet, but I have seen photos of it, and there are people all over the place.”
In terms of what else the Wolfpack will be doing to entice recruits to come to NC State, Nielsen did not give any immediate plans.
“Talley and the facility will help,” Nielsen said. “But we are always going to do everything that we can to get the top recruits from the state — just staying in contact with the families and getting the recruits to campus and showing them how beautiful the campus is.”
With recruiting of high school seniors starting Sept. 1 and the Wolfpack’s first home game against the Troy Trojans, the NC State has a solid chance to get an early leg up on recruiting for the 2015-2016 football season.
