Lincoln Riley calls USCs new football facility a little bit of a dream

As he entered a side door of the media room inside USC’s gleaming football facility, Lincoln Riley found himself waging a war of restraint.With the Trojans set to unveil a new $200 million palace to reporters on Thursday, their coach didn’t want to spill too many details beforehand.Then again, Riley was filled with euphoria about the place as he stepped in front of the media after his team completed its second practice of fall training camp.Uh-oh.Maybe a few details would be OK?Riley couldn’t resist giving a bit of a primer.“This building is magical — it really is,” the coach said Saturday of the three-story, 160,000-square-foot Bloom Football Performance Center.“I think the response of the players and the staff when they were able to first come in here was powerful.

It’s a significant, significant step for our program.”With his family away, Riley said he hadn’t left the luxurious compound in five days.He added he was having trouble getting players to go home given all the amenities at their disposal.“I give the university credit,” Riley said.

“You can say or promise that you’re gonna build a facility, and then you can halfway do it or you can do it right and just go over the top and just really not hold back in any way, and that’s what our university has done.I’m proud and thankful for the university for making this happen.“These first few days in here have honestly been a little bit of a dream.”The facility more than doubles the team’s previous space and, according to renderings, makes an immediate impression with a lobby showcasing USC’s 11 national championships, eight Heisman Trophy winners and 179 All-Americans.The first floor contains a spacious locker room and player lounge in addition to cutting-edge sports medicine, nutrition, recovery and sports science facilities, not to mention a weight room providing direct access to the practice fields.The second floor houses a state-of-the-art walk-through room, team and pos...