This year's newest designs in athletic facilities are blending tradition with modernization.
By Jim Catalano
Jim Catalano is an Associate Editor at Athletic Management.
Many colleges and universities have been on a building binge lately, seeking to upgrade facilities all across campus as they move into the new millennium. Athletic departments have been among the prime beneficiaries of this boom, receiving new facilities designed to rejuvenate their programs, attract student-athletes, and keep them ahead of their conference rivals.
In many cases, colleges and universities are looking to update their facilities while still maintaining a traditional appearance. Call it the Camden Yards craze--clothing a state-of-the-art building with modern technology and amenities in an outer shell designed to blend in with the surroundings. Others are finding it cost-effective to overhaul older facilities and update their look in the process.
In this article, we'll examine how four architecture firms have met the challenges of modernizing these old buildings with capabilities that enable their clients' athletic departments to face the future with a new confidence.
Wagner College
Sutter Gymnasium had served Wagner College well since the 1940s, but a few years ago, college officials decided that it was time to upgrade the facility. In addition to the school's athletic and recreational departments needing a facelift, Wagner also wanted to host a men's NCAA Northeast Conference basketball tournament game, an event for which Sutter was inadequate.
But, in the course of expansion to what would be called the Spiro Sports Center, Wagner officials wanted to preserve the facade of the original gym, as well as many fragile trees in front of the building. "We've done renovation and expansion projects before, but the degree of selective demolition was a new avenue for us," says Susan Thompson, marketing director at Stanmar, Inc., in Sudbury, Mass. "And it was a challenge from a construction standpoint to do that work while preserving trees on the perimeter."
Stanmar, Inc., began the project by gutting Sutter Gym, removing one wing, and expanding both the front and rear of the building. The basketball arena was increased from its former two-court offering (with 1,100 seats) into a main, wooden-floored competition court with two synthetic-surface cross courts, when the current 1,700 bleacher seats are retracted. A parquet pattern gives the floor a traditional look.
New locker rooms and training facilities were also added, as well as a hospitality suite and hall of fame room that provides a sweeping view of the gym. With the new venue, Wagner was able to host the 1999 Northeast Conference championship game.
The 83,150-square-foot center also includes Wagner's first natatorium, which features a six-lane, 25-yard pool, a state-of-the-art dehumidification system, and a wall of palladium windows that provides a view of the campus. The natatorium is easily accessible from the locker area.
A new canopied entrance tower announces the $10.5 million facility to visitors with its expansive lobby, control desk, and cathedral ceilings. Other new components include: a fitness center; a weight room and aerobics room; office space for the athletic department administrative and coaching staff; and a predominately green color scheme used throughout to tie in with the school's official colors and Seahawks mascot.
"It's a terrific addition to the College and we're proud to have it on campus," says Dr. Norman Smith, President of Wagner College. "The pool is beautiful, we have a very nice fitness center, and the basketball arena is better than we hoped for. Our Spiro Sports Center is a quality building--we received a good buy for the price."
Earlham College
With the recent success of its NCAA Division III nationally ranked men's soccer team, Earlham College athletics has been on a roll. The college's new $13-million Athletics and Wellness Center, which opened in August, should only serve to compliment the positive atmosphere.
The center is the result of an extensive renovation of two existing buildings that date back to 1904 and 1969. "Although athletics had always had an important place on campus, from a facilities standpoint, there was real problem," says Erik Kocher, principal with Hastings and Chivetta Architects, Inc., in St. Louis. "Those buildings were not only not meeting Earlham's program requirements, they were also in very bad shape. So they needed more space and they needed to fix what they had."
In deference to school tradition, Earlham officials wanted to preserve the facade of the 1904 building, but wanted to cover up the 1969 one. "The newer building had metal siding and a metal roof; it was pretty dismal in terms of quality, even right after it was built," Kocher says. "We ended up adding a third wing in front and then renovated the old parts so that it all blended together to match the old field house's facade and flow as one facility."
The old 1904 fieldhouse was completely gutted to expose the original structure, and new windows, four recreation courts, and a jogging track were installed. "There's enough area for inclement-weather practices by the track and field, baseball, softball, and even football teams," Kocher says.
Earlham's athletic programs will benefit from the 106,000 square-foot facility's offerings: an upgraded gymnasium; added weight training and fitness rooms; aerobics and dance studios; team visitors and coaches rooms; racquetball courts; a climbing wall; athletic training room; performance gym; a natatorium with a six-lane; 25-yard pool; a hall of fame room; a student lounge; an observation room; and administrative offices.
"There's an arena dedicated to basketball and volleyball, which means the teams no longer have to share a larger multipurpose room with other users," Kocher says. "We readapted one of the original gymnasiums and put in a wooden floor, bleachers, scoreboards, and a skybox.
"They also were woefully short in locker room areas," Kocher continues. "Now they have enough to cover their teams, by season. We also provided faculty, coaches, and the general student population with locker rooms as well, so there's not a competition between teams and recreational users for the locker rooms."
The renovation replaced the three old racquetball courts--which had served as an athletic training room, cardiovascular center, and storage area--with new rooms dedicated to those functions. Two new racquetball courts, which now will actually be used for the sport, also were built.
One of the aesthetic hallmark features of the new center is a two-story atrium space that provides a central concourse and circulation area between the older buildings. "When they built the second building in 1969, they had the foresight to put it 30 feet from the original fieldhouse," Kocher says. "They had filled that space with a one-story wooden structure, which we took down and replaced with the new atrium."
The athletic department should benefit from the new center's expanded office space. "Coaches were scattered all over campus, with two or three sharing an office," Kocher says. "But now they have a very nice office suite, which can even handle some future teams and growth in the department. It's night and day to compare what they had before and what they have now."
University of Illinois-Chicago
Renovated and converted from an existing practice ice rink, the new Flames Athletic Center is a breath of fresh air to the University of Illinois-Chicago. The $9.25 million, 58,000-square-foot building provides a state-of-the-art facility to the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic programs.
"There were a couple of main design goals with this project," says Chris Mekus, principal for Mekus Studios, in Chicago. "One goal was to create a practice facility for both men's and women's varsity basketball teams so they could have simultaneous practices. A second goal was to develop support space to accommodate all of the school's Division I teams.
"The biggest challenge was trying to accommodate two NCAA-sized courts within the original footprint, which ultimately did not happen," Mekus continues. "It was more economical to take down half of the building because of the physical constraints of the old rink size. So we demolished half of the rink and attached a new gym to the old structure, which allowed us to get the new NCAA-sized courts side by side."
In the remaining section of the rink, which was about 20 feet high, a mezzanine floor was added. The area now houses several locker rooms, an athletic training room, a strength and conditioning area, a sports medicine center, and offices for the school's coaches and athletic administrators.
Converting the ice rink also offered some challenges in terms of lighting. "We needed to add windows for all the support activities, particularly all the offices on the second floor," Mekus explains. "So we had to puncture the exterior wall with windows, yet try to tie the whole thing together, so that it architecturally unified with the adjoining physical education building."
This need for unity led to what Mekus calls the most innovative part of the project: a striking glass entryway to the athletic center. "We tried to create an identity for the new center within the parameters of the existing building," he says. "The glass entryway gives it its own identity, even though we kept the original facade. And while the entrance physically connects and visually links the center with the physical education building, people don't have to go through one building to get to the other." Since its dedication last fall, the Flames Athletic Center has met with positive response from the UIC athletic department. "It has created an environment that is stimulating not only to the players and students, but also to the coaches and athletic director, which imparts a sense of enthusiasm and excitement to everyone," Mekus says. "Most important, it's been a big help with creating credibility with recruits. UIC can now show off the up-to-date amenities it offers for each of its sports, which may help give them an edge on rival schools looking to recruit the same athletes."
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Looking to upgrade its football program, as well as its ability to host additional events, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas contracted Ellerbe Becket, in Kansas City, Mo., to design a renovation and expansion plan for Sam Boyd Stadium. With John Robinson's arrival as Head Football Coach this season, the university is hoping that greater success will lead to bigger crowds in the stands.
The stadium hosts more than 20 events a year, from the Western Athletic Conference Football Championship to the Las Vegas Bowl and UNLV Runnin' Rebels football games. "But one of the problems with the stadium was that the concourse was very narrow," says Marty Haynes, senior project designer at Ellerbe Becket. "So what we did was more than double the width of the concourse by moving the restrooms that were inside the original footprint of the stadium to a new outer ring."
In the process, the architects added windows to illuminate the interior. "It was dark in the old concourse, so once we moved the restrooms, we cut big windows in the existing exterior walls," Haynes explains. "So now there's lots of light pouring in, and the windows also provide a view of the surrounding mountains. That, plus the broadened concourse, has dramatically changed the look of the stadium on the inside. It's just not the same place anymore."
The other major addition to Sam Boyd Stadium is a new five-story press box. "Elaborate press boxes seem to be a recent trend in college stadiums," Haynes says. "This one has a club level with about 485 seats; a press box level that's 240 feet long; a suite level with 16 suites; and on top of that, a camera deck level."
The press box has added to the Las Vegas skyline. "Before, it was a flat stadium with a low profile," Haynes says. "It used to just be white-painted concrete on the outside, but as part of the renovation, it was given colors that are related to the surroundings. Also, the way the press box is massed together sort of emulates the mountains in the background." To complete the facelift, 9,000 new seats were added to the stadium, along with new graphics and signage, and a new grass field.
The main challenge in the $19 million project was the accelerated time frame--about nine months. "We started construction after the first of the year to be ready for the first home game in mid-September," Haynes says. "But the effort was well worth it. The project has given the facility a totally new look. It's not the same Sam Boyd Stadium it once was. And UNLV is hoping the refreshed look of the stadium will benefit the football program as well."