The University of Tampa will re-dedicate the newly renovated Martinez Athletics Center and the adjacent Health Sciences and Human Performance building on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 10:30 a.m.
The re-dedication will be held in the lobby of the Martinez Athletics Center. Former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez, a UT alumnus who the facility is named after, will be in attendance, as will Mayor Bob Buckhorn and other dignitaries.
The renovated facilities account for more than 110,000 square feet of multi-use classrooms, labs, faculty offices and athletics space. Construction of the Health Sciences and Human Performance building (HSHP) began in June 2011, and renovation of the Martinez Athletics Center (MAC) began spring 2012.
MAC's longtime centerpiece is its 3,432-seat gymnasium. However, today the building has been transformed into a center that integrates athletics with a focus on academics, skill development, UT athletic history, training and rehabilitation, and administration. The center incorporates new locker rooms, weight room, media center, aerobic room, concession area and study lounge.
The center also received updated branding to emphasize Spartan themes, and includes a new Sword & Shield Room. Displays highlight UT’s Athletes of the Century, Academic All-Americans, National Championships and Community Service Awards, UT athletics history and more.
HSHP, now a two-story structure, is used primarily for general academic purposes and for the Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance. HSHP includes eight classrooms, one athletic training classroom/lab, two human anatomy and physiology labs, one human performance lab and one marine science lab.
A few MAC highlights: