In front of a festive crowd of more than 400 people, USC officially broke ground today on the new John McKay Center.

The $70 million, 110,000-square-foot facility on the west side of Heritage Hall will house meeting rooms, coaches’ offices and a locker room for the football program, as well as an academic center, weight room, athletic training room and state-of-the-art digital media production facility for USC’s 21 sports.

USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Trojan athletic director Pat Haden presided over the ceremony that included members of the USC Board of Trustees, university deans and administrators, athletic department staff, coaches, student-athletes, donors and fans.

The Trojan Marching Band and USC Song Girls performed. After brief speeches, Nikias and Haden were joined in hardhats by Board of Trustee members Ronald L Tutor, Tamara Gustavson and Edward P. Roski, Jr., who placed commemorative shovels into the ground.

Construction of the two-story building is expected to take 18 months.

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