BLACKSBURG -- In its latest effort to keep up with its ACC rivals, Virginia Tech plans to spend $13-15 million on a football locker room facility.

Tech hopes to choose an architect and construction firm in January or February, and seek design and funding approval from the Board of Visitors in March. The athletic department hopes to begin construction next summer so the building -- which would be about 33,000 square feet -- could be ready for the 2010 season.

"Our football locker room ... [is] woefully inferior to other football locker rooms within the conference," associate athletic director Tom Gabbard said Tuesday.

The facility, which would also include a players' lounge and office space, would be built in back of the Jamerson Athletic Center. It would be adjacent to the football practice field.

A $20 million basketball practice facility is currently being constructed. A new field house for the football and Olympic sports teams was supposed to be the next capital athletic project after the basketball facility, so the current field house could be turned into an indoor track facility.

Why is the football locker room facility cutting in front of the field house?

Football "is the engine that drives our train," Gabbard said.

The football locker room and lounge are currently in the Jamerson Athletic Center.

"It's a little aged, and it really needs to be spruced up, and it really could be just a little bit bigger," Gabbard said.

Facilities are a prime recruiting tool.

North Carolina renovated its football locker room last year. Clemson built a new locker room and lounge within its athletic center in 2004. Miami has been upgrading its football building, and plans to renovate the locker room. North Carolina State constructed a football building, which includes a locker room and lounge, earlier this decade.

Athletic director Jim Weaver decided over the summer that a new locker room was needed, said Gabbard, after Tech officials looked at photos of other facilities, including those at Texas, Florida and Clemson.

Tech officials have not yet determined how much money the Hokie Club would have to raise for the football facility.

The Hokie Club raised $11 million last year for the basketball facility, exceeding its $10.6 million goal. The Hokie Club could not find a booster who wanted to donate millions to have the building named after him or her, though. The largest single donation was $500,000, so that building still has no name.

Soliciting donations for the football facility could be more difficult, given the state of the economy.

"I'm glad we're not ready to raise it because the times are tough," athletic development director Lu Merritt said. "You really don't want to go out and ask people for large gifts when you've got uncertain economic times and people's stock portfolios are down."

Merritt plans to solicit donations next spring. He hopes ex-Hokies now in the NFL will be major donors.

The new facility would probably be as high as the four-story Jamerson Athletic Center, but it will likely have only three floors. The first floor would be a locker room, and the second floor a lounge. The locker room might include such features as a hot tub, TV sets, a sound system and an area to watch game film.

"We'd want to go as high-tech as we can," Gabbard said.

The top floor would be a shell that would remain empty until Tech needs more office space.

Tech has hired a firm to come up with the design criteria, which will be given to architects and construction companies so they can submit designs and bids.

The current locker room and lounge, an area which includes a sauna and steam room, would be used by Olympic sports teams once the new facility is built.

The locker room for visiting football teams will remain at Lane Stadium.