McCreary Field House, the new indoor practice facility for Demon Deacon athletics, opened in the spring of 2016. The 80,000-square foot structure features a 120-yard football field and weightlifting facilities for the Wake Forest football team.
McCreary Field House is the first phase of a planned $58 million project that will include the Sutton Sports Performance Center. The Field House was constructed at a cost of $21 million with Bob McCreary providing $12.5 million as the lead gift on the project that was totally funded through private gifts.
Located behind Miller Center on Wake Forest's Reynolda campus, McCreary Field House is designed to benefit all 18 Wake Forest athletic programs. It will provide an area for teams to train year-round regardless of the weather conditions.
McCreary graduated from Wake Forest in 1961 and played football for the Deacons. He grew up in rural Caldwell County, N.C., and regularly credits the scholarship that provided him the opportunity to receive a Wake Forest education and enabled him to succeed in business and in life.
After a brief professional football career, McCreary worked for 20 years in sales and marketing in the furniture industry before founding his own furniture company, McCreary Modern, in 1986.
McCreary Field House is roughly 200 feet by 400 feet with a peak height of 72 feet. Including site work, the entire facility was constructed in 18 months. The playing surface is an exact replica of the surface at Allegacy Stadium, Wake Forest's home football stadium. The surface matches Allegacy Stadium's surface in terms of appearance, pitch and playing turf.
McCreary Field House features goalposts that are suspended from the ceiling and can be raised and lowered depending on the activity. Camera platforms are provided 28 feet above the playing surface to facilitate videotaping of practice activities.
The facility consists of 240,000 bricks, 543 tons of steel on the overall super structure and 95,000 square feet of standing metal seam roofing. Over 125,000 man-hours were invested in the construction of McCreary Field House.
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