USC announces major facility upgrades for football, baseball

USC football coach Lincoln Riley has hinted at facility upgrades over the last year and a half, but when pressed he never offered any further specifics of details.

Those came Thursday, as USC revealed university president Carol Folt’s “strategic vision for athletics facilities,” which was presented to the Board of Trustees last week.

That includes a new three-story performance center for the football program and an upgraded baseball stadium, in addition to the previously announced new home for USC women’s lacrosse and soccer.

As for the football impact, Riley called it “an absolute game-changer for our program.”

“It will be the perfect home for our team and give our players every opportunity to be successful,” he said in a statement.

The new performance center will have three levels dedicated to team operations as well as a rooftop hospitality deck and player lounge. The new complex will feature a new team locker room, multiple player lounges, a recovery hub, nutritional support, sports sciences services, a weight room, a training room, an equipment room, a team auditorium, position meeting rooms, recruiting areas, staff offices and flexible space for future growth.

The Trojans are also adding a second full-length practice field, which players will access directly from the performance center.

USC is repurposing the space where the football practice fields already sit and surrounding spaces, including part of the grounds the current baseball stadium occupies.

USC’s baseball stadium, Dedeaux Field, will face an opposite direction under the reconstruction. It will have capacity of around 2,500 fans and feature outdoor social spaces, an indoor hospitality space, multiple concession locations, expanded restrooms, a video board and an audio system. The stadium will also include a brand-new press box, coaching and support staff offices, and a team meeting space.

The university also announced this week that USC women’s lacrosse and soccer teams will have a new home: Rawlinson Stadium.

The stadium will feature a total capacity of 2,500 for game days and include spectator viewing decks and social spaces, a state-of-the-art press box, spectator restrooms, a box office, concession stands and a formal entry plaza.

Rawlinson Stadium — made possible by a gift from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation and support from Folt’s presidential fund — will have new, dedicated locker rooms for the soccer and lacrosse teams, as well as a team meeting area, a sports medicine space, a nutrition fueling bar and meeting space for coaches. In addition, Rawlinson Stadium will include an LED video board and a natural grass playing surface.

USC did not disclose what these projects will cost or how the football/baseball project is being funded.

“Every day our exceptional, hard-working student-athletes come here to pursue their dreams. We want to provide the facilities and support for those dreams to come true,” Folt said in a statement. “These exciting new plans will benefit Trojan athletes across all 21 programs.”