Maryland is inching closer to finishing the new Cole Field House, and it’s pretty sweet

Back in 2014, Maryland announced it would be turning Cole Field House from a former basketball arena that was being used for student events into a state-of-the-art football facility.

Parts of the building were scheduled to be operational by May 2017, with the full new Cole Field House launching in 2018. This facility, which came with a $155 million price tag, is a huge deal. Let Scott Van Pelt show you around:

Well, it’s May 2017. Here’s what we got:

For posterity, here’s what Cole looked like last April:

And now:

Things are coming along quite nicely. This is important for all aspects of Maryland’s football team, and sure, non-football reasons that relate to actual school, but also recruiting. Here’s what SB Nation recruiting guru Bud Elliot told TT’s Pete Volk and Dave Tucker way back in 2014:

This facility is a big deal. If you're a biology major, you want to have a great lab. A concert violinist wants the best acoustic practice rooms. And if you're an elite football recruit, you want the best in training and practice facilities.

Football players spend a ton of time on football activities. They watch film, they work out, they practice, they have position group meetings, they eat and they get treatment for their injuries. Now, Maryland's players will be able to do that all in the same state-of-the-art facility. No trudging across campus to get treatment for that strained hamstring.

More:

This is clearly a first-class facility. Not only can Maryland sell this facility to recruits, but perhaps equally important, other schools are not going to be able to negatively recruit against the Terrapins. They will not be able to question Maryland's commitment to developing every aspect of the student athlete.

Seems good!

In other news

Maryland men’s lacrosse is playing Albany this weekend. Our Alex Littlehales thinks the Great Danes were the victims of some Wichita State-level disrespect.

Minnesota didn’t get seeded in the NCAA Softball Tournament, which is a disgrace.

The Celtics won the NBA Draft Lottery.

Jamal Wade started his Maryland career as a home run hitter, but now he could end up as one of the team’s best pitchers. Here’s Jake Eisenberg on Wade’s journey at Maryland Baseball Network.

More Cole Field House linkage

DJ Durkin on new Cole: “We’ll be second to none.”

Maryland offensive coordinator Walt Bell: “By the end of 2017 we're gonna have the best facility in all of athletics."

The Terps will enter Maryland Stadium through a tunnel from Cole before games