High-Tech, But Classic Auburn

There is an arms race going on in the world of college football. And the sparking Woltosz Football Performance Center is proof that Auburn has no intention of relinquishing its place among the nation’s elite programs.

Covering 12 acres and 226,000-square feet, the high-tech facility houses coaches offices, practice fields, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center and so much more. We’re getting the full tour, thanks to Jeremy Roberts and Ben Harling. Roberts is the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Operations while Harling is the General Manager for Auburn Sports Properties, overseeing Auburn Athletics’ brand partnerships including the longstanding relationship with Regions.

Auburn’s football history is front and center as you enter the building. Once inside, we discover how Auburn is maybe miles ahead of competitors preparing the next generation. Inside the Innovation Lab, recruiting coordinator Xaria Wiggins shows just how innovative Auburn remains.

“We can take a full-body scan to measure athletes,” Wiggins explained. “It’s one of only five of its kind, so when the students come in as freshmen, we can take a 360-degree body scan. Our helmets are shaped to their specific head size.”

Upstairs, overlooking the outdoor practice field, football coach Hugh Freeze and his staff take a break from a game-plan meeting to briefly greet us. Freeze shares a quick moment with James Salter, Regions’ market executive in Auburn, before returning to the grind.

Roberts and Harling take pride in showing off the facility. Who wouldn’t? It’s a unique, eye-opening experience for recruits and visitors alike. But back outside, they point to the incredible architecture, which melds into the entire campus.

“The neat thing is we’ve been able to maintain the classic collegiate Auburn look,” Roberts said, referring to the ever-present red brick edifice evident even as you venture into the town itself. Downtown Auburn is booming, with high-rise buildings going up everywhere. But the city has kept its cozy feel.

“The great thing about Auburn is that it can be as big as you want or as small as you need,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day, it’s the people that make it special.”

From Ticker Tape to TP at Toomer’s

Salter has the task of showing us around downtown Auburn. Even if you’ve covered athletic events here for decades – or sent two children to school – there’s always something new. Cranes dot the skyline and new businesses and condos seem to rise on a weekly basis.

We stop for lunch at Acre, named one of Southern Living South’s Best restaurants. Located in a gorgeous stone building, James Beard Foundation winner David Bancroft crafts stylish meals based on farm-to-table provisions. This is one of the premier gathering spots on football weekends because of the food and the ambience.

We bid Salter adieu then stroll three blocks back to the edge of campus, where we follow up our meal with lemonade from Toomer’s Drugs, an Auburn tradition since the tail end of the 19^th Century.

Catacorner across the street is another iconic landmark, Toomer’s Corner. Located at the intersection of Magnolia and College Street, this is where students head to classes or take a breather from the day under the shade of the oak trees.

After an Auburn victory, Toomer’s Corner becomes covered in a sea of toilet paper. It’s a tradition that began long before the age of the internet – and even radio. When the Auburn football team won a pivotal game on the road, news first filtered to Toomer’s Drugs, which also housed the telegraph office. Employees would get the news, then drape the trees with ticker tape, creating a heritage that continues today, albeit with Charmin.

Auburn: An Arts Mecca

There’s more than football (and a preseason Top 10 men’s basketball program) at Auburn.

Thanks to the Gouge Performing Arts Center, locals don’t have to travel to Atlanta or Birmingham for first-class entertainment. In October alone, the 1,200-seat theater hosted the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Wizard of Oz for cinephiles, “Dear Evan Hansen” for patrons of live theatre and a mix of concerts and family musicals for all ages.

Across the street, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts at Auburn University has welcomed patrons for 21 years. Considered the cultural heart of the university, it includes one of the best American modernism collections, as well as Southern visionary art.

But the arts don’t end at the city limit.

While the Gouge Performing Arts Center focuses on brand-name acts and Broadway touring shows, East Alabama Arts hosts award-winning theatre, from international orchestras to popular touring shows , at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts, housed on the city’s high school campus just a few minutes from the university. East Alabama Arts also is the home of “Open Book,” with staged readings that bring exciting new work to an audience for the first time.

What sets East Alabama Arts apart is its willingness to embrace original work.

This is where the play, “We’ll Meet Again,” based on the life of a well-respected Opelika businessman who escaped Nazi Germany as a 5-year-old, launched a nine-theater tour in 2023. It’s the birth of a grand plan to bring more original productions to a wider audience.

“East Alabama Arts is filling a need for quality, professionally staged productions of important new work,” EAA President Phillip Preston said. “We’re developing a new way to bring homegrown productions to a wider audience.”

The performing arts center also serves as the home of Opelika High’s award-winning theatre department. As we visit, Revel Gholston, OHS Theatre Director, is putting the finishing touches for performances of “Hadestown: Teen Edition.”

Chasing Waterfalls

For students, the Donald E. Davis Arboretum offers a tree-lined excursion from parking lots on an edge of campus to academic classes. But for those in the know, it’s also a refuge from the hustle and bustle of college life.

The public park features 900 trees, including all 39 species found in Alabama from the Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains, self-guided tours and examples of sustainable water management. And while there’s so much new around town, the Davis Arboretum has been around for 60-plus years.

Need more reasons to get away?

Nearby Chewacla State Park covers 696 acres and offers everything from a 26-acre lake and swimming area to a modern campground with grills for cooking and heaters for staying warm. On any given day, you’ll see cyclists working on a good burn or hikers taking on the meandering up-and-down trail while assessing their cardio capabilities.

Just downstream of the spillway is Chewacla Falls. There’s no better respite on a sizzling summer day than to sit beneath the flowing water. Even during dry months, the falls take your breath away. And so does the short, but steep hike, though it’s worth the effort.

But as the foliage changes, we take note. The Tigers are due back in town. And soon Auburn will swell with fans, alums and visitors alike. Just as every home football Saturday. It’s not a tradition here.

It’s a way of life.