An inside look at living, studying and working at Cal Poly.

Inside Cal Poly

Named after Cal Poly alumnus and NFL Hall-of-Fame coach and broadcaster John Madden, the $45 million <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/football_operations/">John Madden Football Center</a> construction is pushing into the third quarter and planning for an opening in Winter 2026.



The 35,000-square-foot facility will become the new home of the Cal Poly football team, accommodating its training and regular-season needs and helping to recruit top-quality student-athletes to campus.



The center will feature a new team locker room, weight room, coach offices with support spaces, team meeting rooms, training and medical support spaces, a student-athlete lounge with nutrition and hydration stations, lobby and entrance spaces with access to the stadium&#8217;s south end and parking.



Designed with a heavy focus on creating a holistic student athlete experience, the center will feature a state-of-the-art medical center with therapy and hydrotherapy pools and a facility that can be used for everything from the treatment of a sprained ankle to addressing certain potential emergencies.



With the recovering student athlete’s mental wellbeing in mind, the north side of the building will open to Spanos Stadium with the help of large sliding doors on the ground floor to allow team members receiving treatment to continue to be part of team practices.



To help build comradery and a team atmosphere, the student athlete lounge will be equipped with large screen TVs and gaming consoles as well as nutrition and hydration stations.



And with a significant nod towards history, and the student athletes who came before, the entire building was designed to incorporate the Mustang Memorial Plaza as the centerpiece to the main entrance.



A remembrance of the victims of the 1960 plane crash which took the lives of 16 players and the team manager, the plaza was a special place for John Madden, as many of his friends were on the flight.



The Mustang statue at the center of the plaza faces the main entrance to the building.



As part of the Cal Poly Master Plan and in support of making room for student success, the facility will be equipped with a 130-seat team room, which will also be used as an academic lecture hall in the off season.



Additionally, the project is part of the <a href="https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2023110679" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">South Campus Infrastructure Renewal</a> project, which includes repairing and replacing a sanitary sewer, storm drainage, gas and electrical service, as well as fiber communication relocation and broadcast streaming to Alex G. Spanos Stadium.



The estimated completion for the John Madden Football Center is January 2026.

Tag: John Madden

John Madden Football Center Construction Update