DeKALB | Aug. 1, 2007. That’s the day the Yordon Center will officially open.

And just five days later, it will be occupied by hundreds of bodies, as the NIU football team reports for practice.

The new Academic and Athletic Performance Center is something that will, ideally, take NIU athletics to a new level.

Aside from adding much-needed space for offices, locker rooms and equipment, to go along with a computer lab and classrooms, the new facility brings a few new noteworthy features, starting with the athletic training room.

Aside from adding space for tables, the training area has two whirlpools used for rehabbing. Both of these whirlpools are built directly into the ground.

One of pools has a video camera under the water. This allows trainers to watch athletes perform physical activity on a monitor.

An X-ray machine has also been donated by Kishwaukee Community Hospital and in time, NIU trainers Phil Voorhis and Kammy Powell will be trained to use the machine.

Voorhis, the head athletic trainer, also has the ability to turn off the water to the bathrooms in the training area with the flip of a lever. This feature helps the trainers keep compliance with NCAA drug testing regulations.

Probably the most impressive addition is the 12,000-plus square-foot area of the building dedicated to the weight room.

The “supermarket,” as it has been nicknamed, more than triples the current weight area for NIU athletics and adds such amenities as three 40-yard running lanes.

And for the first time in his career at NIU, head coach Joe Novak will be able to see his reflection off a window in his office. The large glass panes open up to the north endzone of Huskie Stadium.

An elevated theater also is on the second floor of the new facility. It has a capacity for 150 people. This area will be used to watch film by players and for study groups by athletes.

Former NIU quarterback Josh Haldi joked that the only problem he saw with the new facility was that the shower heads were a bit too short for taller players.

Other than that, Haldi was impressed with the new facilities for the Huskies.

“I’m blown away. There’s definitely a lot of amenities here that we didn’t have,” the former quarterback said. “Northern deserves it. These guys put a lot of work in and it’s a reflection of that.”