Why some fans are taking shots at the USC football facilities

Braylon Conley is one of several 2024 recruits on USC's campus as summer enrollees. The cornerback from Humble, Texas, is already working out at the John McKay Center and was issued his jersey number. But many fans who saw Conley's social media post regarding his jersey number took issue with the condition of the USC locker room.

The Trojans football locker room is outdated and below the standard of college football's juggernaut programs. USC's football facility was state-of-the-art when the McKay Center opened in 2012. However, what one considers 'state-of-the-art' has dramatically changed in the last decade. Today, a cutting-edge college football facility looks like players have personal lounges instead of lockers.

Construction is underway on a new USC football facility.

The new Trojans football facility, currently under construction, is set to revolutionize the USC football experience. It will boast a new locker room, player lounges, and meeting rooms, all housed in a three-floor building that offers a panoramic view of a new natural grass practice field.

In February, USC senior associate athletic director Dave Emerick posted a construction update on Twitter/X.

Not everyone is a fan of USC building a new football facility.

Criticism of a new football facility is understandable, considering the university spent $70 million on the McKay Center 12 years ago. A recent ranking of college football facilities listed USC's 29th nationally. Indeed, the Trojans are far from meeting and practicing in squalor, but removing the synthetic turf practice field is long overdue.

The money traveling in and out of college football has skyrocketed in the College Football Playoff era. Fiscal reports from 2022 indicate Power 5 conferences pocketed a combined $3.3 billion. Also, College Football Playoff expansion resulted in ESPN signing a $7.8 billion contract to retain rights as the contest's sole media provider.

Ultimately, a new football facility will not bankrupt USC. Migration to the Big Ten will provide the university with a lucrative chunk of the conference's $7 billion in media rights deals.