Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry and Tech Athletics officially unveiled the first look at the newly-renovated Sanghani Player Lounge on Thursday.
The 2021 renovation was made possible thanks to the generosity of Virginia Tech graduate and longtime donor Mehul Sanghani as part of a larger gift to Tech Athletics. The renovation includes expanded offices and work space for Tech’s player personnel and recruiting staff.
Sanghani and his wife, Hema, have a long history of giving back to their alma mater. In January of 2021, the couple made a $10 million gift to Virginia Tech to support the newly renamed Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, which will be headquartered at the university’s groundbreaking Innovation Campus in Alexandria. The Sanghanis also endowed and established The Market of Virginia Tech to combat food insecurity on campus and in the surrounding local community.
“The identity of Virginia Tech Football has been built around a blue-collar work ethic and a close-knit family environment,” Sanghani said. “We hope that this investment in the players lounge and our recruiting infrastructure creates an environment for our former players to come back and reinforce that identity, our current players to build the bonds that make that family environment tangible and attract future elite Hokies that want to be a part of continuing that legacy. As natives of Blacksburg and Southwest Virginia, my family and I are incredibly proud to have our family name forever tied to an investment in maintaining that culture and legacy.”
In addition to funding the players lounge renovation, the gift to Tech Athletics from Sanghani will also fund four new full-time positions in football recruiting to further enhance the Hokies’ player personnel initiatives with particular focus on continuing to bolster Tech’s graphic design and digital content teams. The contribution for Sanghani also includes an annual contribution to Tech’s Football Enhancement Fund.
Tech officials had envisioned the look and feel of a modern entertainment complex and player centric environment in the redesign, which is exactly the vibe the Hokies now have in this updated space. Located one floor above the football locker room, the reimagined lounge is now the perfect spot for the Hokies to relax, play video games, watch movies, or simply unwind. Featuring arcade games galore, as well as ping pong and pool tables, the lounge comes complete with a refreshment station and a theatre room.
The redesign of the lounge was handled by South Carolina-based consulting agency Jack Porter. The entrance to the lounge includes a fully immersive “Sandman experience” replicating the gameday feel of walking through the Avery Tunnel into Lane Stadium with sensors set to play Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ as players walk in. In addition to serving as a spot where current team members can bond and enjoy moments of fellowship, the lounge also offers an ideal location for recruits and their families to relax during visits to campus.