The Pac-12 Conference today started construction on a 70,000-square-foot studio and office complex at 370 Third St. in San Francisco that will be operating by August.

Pac-12 Enterprises, the media arm of the 12-team collegiate sports conference, will operate a national network out of the building, transmitting six regional feeds and multiple digital streams.

BCN reports:

Former San Francisco 49ers and University of Southern California football star Ronnie Lott and current Seattle Seahawk and former University of California star Marshawn Lynch were among the athletes who took power drills to a wall at the new facility.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott called the groundbreaking “a seminal moment for the conference.”

Surrounded by famous athletes, San Francisco’s mayor bragged that he had a different type of speed, helping to expedite the city’s bureaucratic process.

The groundbreaking came just two months after the announcement that a lease was signed for the office space, which Lee said showed “I may be the shortest guy here, but I move pretty fast too.”

Along with the TV channels, the conference is creating the Pac-12 Digital Network, a website portal that will feature hundreds of live Pac-12 athletic events and other original programming from all 12 college campuses.

Cal women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever said, “With this network … we’re going to attract new fans to many sports they’ll be exposed to for the first time.”