The tones of Jimmy Buffett played by a steel band.
Tiki torches, beach sand, innertubes and beach balls.
Hawaiian leis, a lifeguard chair and a Ron Jon surfboard.
It's absolutely safe to say the Saturday morning festivities for the start of construction of McNamara Cove, UCF's soon-to-come game day hospitality venue (and a lot more) qualified as a "groundbreaking" groundbreaking.
On a perfect 76-degree morning under sunny skies, it was one more reminder of just how unique the UCF athletic experience has become at an event where beachwear was de rigueur.
Even benefactor Tom McNamara and his family wore gold construction hats with a McNamara Cove logo on therm.
Noted UCF vice president and director of athletics Danny White: "We set out to build the most unique athletic village in the country and this facility is right between our leadership center and our nutrition center.
"Now McNamara Cove will create the most exciting tailgating experience in college athletics. I don't think there's anything even close.
"We'll introduce Cove-Gating in the fall of 2020. At a time of year when some of our competitors aren't as fortunate as far as weather, we'll have recruits and our own student-athletes experiencing McNamara Cove.
"It's about creating a culture and getting our student-athletes to come together. It's about team success, but it's about having our student-athletes root for each other--and they can't do that if they don't know each other. So we try to bring them together as often as possible. It's a place for our student-athletes to relax and congregate after practice.
"We're just starting to build this thing."
As McNamara noted, the venue will feature two recreational volleyball courts, cabanas, a pagoda with food and beverages, restroom and changing facilities, a lazy river 600 feet long, two pools (one four feet deep for volleyball and the other for relaxation and lounging) and lots of palm trees.
Added White, "This will be an all-inclusive membership, all you can eat and drink, with high-end BBQ. It's a pretty unique corporate hospitality space, something nobody else offers.
"A lazy river right in the shadow of the stadium? It's a significant recruiting amenity because there are not many schools with our weather to be able to do something like this.
"It will be a revenue-generating project for us to reinvest in our student-athlete experience.
"The vision was always, 'What makes us distinctive?'
"There's the weather, we're not far from the beach and this is the latest thing that makes us unique."
