MADISON – When Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh talks about improving the recruitment and retention of football players, he says name, image and likeness opportunities are a key.

But so is that massive structure being built just to the east of Camp Randall Stadium.

With a price tag of $285 million, the new practice facility, which has been named the Kellner Family Athletic Center, is the largest capital project in athletic department history. It is also a key piece of McIntosh’s vision for revitalizing the football program.

He announced in October there will be additional financial resources pumped into the program for “investments into infrastructure, staffing and, most importantly, student-athlete recruiting and retention”. However, a significant amount of funds has already been pumped into the football program in the form of the new indoor facility, which is named after the family of long-time donors Ted and Mary Kellner.

“It’s unprecedented,” McIntosh said of the project. “It’s a project on an unprecedented scale.”

McIntosh spoke to the Journal Sentinel on Thursday Nov. 6 to announce that football coach Luke Fickell will return for the 2026 season and provide his rationale for the decision.

That conversation turned to the facility when he was asked about investments that would be made to help build the football program beyond increased NIL opportunities.

The McClain Center, UW’s indoor facility, was built in 1988 and pales in comparison to most of the Big Ten when it comes to amenities and usefulness. It’s safe to put it at or near the bottom of the league.

That will soon change.

“Our intention has not been to win the arms race of facilities,” McIntosh said. “This is not a facility that’s going to have bowling alleys and putt-putt golf.

“It’s a facility that when any one of our athletes walk into that facility, they will feel confident that they have everything they need to train at a level to allow them to reach their potential and to be successful.”

Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to be completed by July. That portion of the project will including 120 yards of field, a 305-meter track, office space and under-field parking.

The second phase of the project will begin in April with the demolition of the McClain Center. On that site a student-athlete support facility will be built that includes new locker rooms, a weight training facility, a sports medicine center and a dining hall.

That part of the project is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2027.

“It’s a huge step forward, not just for our football program, but for our entire athletic department,” McIntosh said. “It’s been made possible by a lot of very, very generous people and supporters.

“It was necessary for us to do that alongside of (and) on a parallel path with everything that’s been changing in college athletics and college football, but I don’t think that those two things are mutually exclusive. I think they all complement each other. And like I said, when you put the pieces of the puzzle together, I think it causes me to remain optimistic.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A look at how Wisconsin’s new indoor practice facility is progressing