Student athletes at Tulane University can expect a new enclosed practice facility featuring an inflatable and detachable roof covering, just in time for the start of the 2025 Green Wave football season.  

While initial plans for the facility designated Brown Field as the construction site, officials overseeing the project revealed in early February that the Claiborne Avenue Parking Lot will serve as the new location for the facility.  

“That parking lot is just a giant slab of concrete, and given the university’s land constraints, it’s actually a perfectly reasonable spot for the facility,” Asher Leveridge, head student manager at Tulane University Athletics, said. 

The practice field will feature an inflatable, removeable roof cover and sides, which can be removed for hurricanes and other necessary events. The 65 to 70-yard-long field will have a 60-foot-tall domed covering to accommodate punting and kicking.  

“It’s going to be used for all 17 D1 sports, whether that’s the sailing team or the bowling team, they’re going to be able to use this facility as a training ground and as a nice turf field for workouts,” Isaac Popper, ESPN+ crew member and broadcast statistician for Tulane Athletics, said. 

When storms interfere with practice, student-athletes must travel to Caesars Superdome or the New Orleans Saints’ practice facility in Metairie, a trip that requires time, police escorts and buses.  

“It’s very expensive, time-consuming and it’s probably in some way detrimental to the performance of our athletic teams,” Leveridge said.  

Popper said that the enclosed practice field, what he calls “the bubble,” was one of many factors in renegotiating Green Wave head coach John Sumrall’s contract after his first year at Tulane.  

“This is just one way that’s going to make us competitive with the so-called Power 4 conferences. For football, if you want to compete with those autonomous Four … then you really need an indoor practice facility in today’s era,” Popper said. 

Tulane reported that sufficient parking for game days will be provided, and permit holders for the Claiborne lot will be contacted with information about their new parking locations.  

This marks a critical next step for the Green Wave in looking to compete in the next College Football Playoff. 

“This is a really important step for the university and the athletics department as they continue to evidence Tulane’s commitment to championship athletics,” Popper said.