Portions of this release were used from lsusports.net

BATON ROUGE – Saturday morning marked the opening of the Marucci Performance Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

The performance center, which is connected to the hitting facility behind the right-field wall of the stadium, is a 4,300 square-foot structure that features a 3,500 square-foot weight room.

“Marucci is full of people who grew up cheering for LSU; many who played at LSU and some that won a lot of championships at LSU,” Marucci CEO Kurt Ainsworth said. “We also have many that played against LSU and grew up cheering against LSU. But regardless, everyone at Marucci has the utmost respect for what the LSU baseball program stands for as the leader in college baseball. Marucci could not be more honored to be a part of the LSU program and even more, to be involved with this facility that will serve as the top-flight training ground for the top program in the country. We believe this project is further evidence of the strength of our relationship with LSU and the local community.”

Construction on the facility began last June, and the project was fully funded through private donations to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, with Marucci providing the lead gift.

4,300 square feet of

Welcome to the Marucci Performance Center. #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/Ftr1HnFtrG

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 18, 2019

Participating in Saturday’s ceremony were LSU coach Paul Mainieri, Marucci executives and Tiger Athletic Foundation officials.

“This is a major upgrade for our facility,” Mainieri said. “It will provide a tremendous benefit in recruiting, and it will enable our players to operate in a much more efficient manner with their weight training schedules. An on-site facility serves a valuable time-management function for the players in satisfying all of their athletic and academic requirements.”

Mainieri noted that along with the new weight room, the facility includes a nutritional fueling station for student-athletes and a locker room for former LSU players to utilize when preparing for MLB spring training.

“I think the former players’ locker room will also be a boost to recruiting,” Mainieri explained. “When recruits come through and they see the lockers with names like (DJ) LeMahieu, (Alex) Bregman, (Kevin) Gausman and (Aaron) Nola, that’s got to impress them. It demonstrates that if they come to LSU, their development as ball players can ultimately lead to them playing in the Major Leagues.

“The facility also makes a statement to our former players that once you leave LSU, it doesn’t end your relationship with LSU. When you become a part of our program, it’s for your entire life, not just the three or four years that you matriculate at our school.”

Below are some features of the Marucci Performance Center:

• 4,300 square feet of space
• Weight Room – 3, 500 square feet with 10 racks, 8 Iso and Leg presses and 5 free weight benches with dumbbell racks
• Cardio Mezzanine – 920 square feet with 2 Elliptical Cross-Trainers, 2 Treadmills and 2 Stationary Bikes, with room for more equipment
• Views from the Main floor and the Mezzanine floor into the Batting Cages
• Athletic Training office with views into the Weight Room and Batting Cages
• Locker Room for use by former LSU players preparing for MLB spring training
• Nutritional Fueling Station for student-athletes
• State-of-the-art audio-visual system and graphics