NIU to build $7.5 million indoor practice facility

Northern Illinois announced plans to build an 80,000-square foot indoor practice facility to house football and other sports.

The project is still a long way from the construction phase. But the plan is to erect a permanent structure, not a bubble, that will sit just north of Huskie Field beyond the Yordon Center.

NIU supporters Kenneth and Ellen Chessick donated $3 million for construction and naming privileges. Kenneth Chessick, a surgeon and attorney, is a Chicago native who has law offices in Schaumburg.

Speaking at halftime of the Northern Illinois-Wisconsin game at Soldier Field, athletic director Jeff Compher suggested a total of $7.5 million is needed to build the indoor practice facility. The plan is to continue to raise money, then announce a formal capital campaign when the total reaches $6 million or so. Compher is hoping that happens within a few months.

“We still have a lot of work to do, you have to understand that,” Compher said. “We have $3 million committed to the project. It was the most rewarding day of my professional career to do that, because I know what it means to our student athletes. I know what it means to our coaches.”

Asked how many schools in the Mid-America Conference have indoor practice facilities, Compher provided a long list.

“Eastern Michigan just added a bubble. Toledo just put one in,” he said. “Akron, Kent State, Bowling Green, Western (Michigan), Central (Michigan) — they all have them. We understand the need to have it for our conference and also our recruiting; doing the things we need to do to prepare ourselves for championships, which is what it’s all about for us.”

First-year NIU coach Dave Doeren expressed his appreciation for the project.

“If it’s lightning, we can’t practice,” he said. “If there’s snow or ice, we can’t practice. Our entire winter time is spent on a wood floor.”