This article originally appeared in the August 1982 issue of AB.
Creative and Social Factors Significant in Selections
This year’s Facilities of Merit entries present a vast array of fresh ideas.
Sports, recreation and athletic facilities are much more than a structure. The need or purpose of the facility, the social judgement, are considerations in these selections.
Here are the five categories:
1. Stadiums, arenas, coliseums and civic centers in which there is a major emphasis on spectator sports.
2. Recreation/Phys Ed/athletic facilities at colleges and universities.
3. Recreation/Phys Ed/athletic facilities at high schools.
4. Recreation/sports center (YMCA’s clubs, corporations, community centers, resorts, military bases, correctional institutions, etc.)
5. Renovation or remodeling of existing facilities.
These are the basic criteria for selection:
1. Cost saving and energy saving construction and operation procedures
2. Creative use of space
3. Ability to meet program needs
4. Innovative design
5. Other factors—primarily the fulfillment of a need; the ingenuity in making the facility a reality.
The fifth point becomes especially meaningful. Here is where creative and social factors are significant. The emphasis is on facility utilization.
Each 1982 entry successfully meets a need. The difficulty and achievement in achieving this goal are selection factors.
Category I
The Carrier Dome
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
UICC Pavilion
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
Chicago, Illinois
Category II
Olney-Margolies Athletic Center
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
Jerome S. Coles Sports and Recreation Center
New York University
New York City
Student Recreation and Aquatic Center
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Robert A. Fetzer Gymnasium
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Lejuene Hall Physical Education Center
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland
Category III
Athletic Center
Berkshire School
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Athletic Field House
Fredericktown High School
Fredericktown, Ohio
The Newman Palaestra
Isidore Newman School
New Orleans, Louisiana
Natatorium Complex
Lake Forest High School
Felton, Delaware
Category IV
Olympic Swim Center
City of Cerritos
Cerritos, California
Spenco Aerobic Club
Spenco Medical Corporation
Waco, Texas
Rusch Park Community Center
Sunrise Recreation and Park District
Citrus Heights, California
Recreation Pavilion
City of Mountlake Terrace
Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Category V
Duneland YMCA
Chesterton, Indiana
Briggs Cage
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Coxe Cage
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Xenia-Greene County YMCA
Xenia, Ohio
Special Award
The Field House
Gallaudet College
Washington, D.C.
Meharry/Hubbard Recreation/Fitness Center
Meharry Medical College
Nashville, Tennessee
