Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex Renovation and Addition – Stonehill College

Easton, MA
Construction Cost: $15.99 million
Area / Square Feet: 75,000
Occupancy Date: August 2015

Stonehill College sought to expand and enhance its current Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex to accommodate much-needed recreational and athletic space. Opened in 1988 and designed to serve 1,930 students, today the Ames Sports Complex serves more than 2,500 students. To ensure the improvements met not only immediate needs but also longer-term aspirations, designers master-planned the athletic and recreation district to increase the sports complex by more than 60,000 square feet while also locating a future 33,700-square-foot basketball arena and a 550-car garage — all of which are anchored by Stonehill’s existing football stadium, main playing field and outdoor track.

The transformative Ames Sports Complex enables Stonehill’s recreation and athletics departments to each have independent, specialized spaces within the facility while preserving the critical interconnectedness of these two programs. Major program areas — including fitness, strength and conditioning, student lounges and multipurpose spaces — are glass-enclosed and visually-connected through layers of interior transparency.

For recreation, the project provides much-needed space for a new fitness center, group exercise rooms and dance studios. Athletics gains new locker rooms for football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and track, as well as a new strength and conditioning area and a new training room. New office suites for athletics and recreation — as well as ample support space, staff lockers, equipment and laundry — also are provided.