Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., has cut the red tape on a new $15.3 million addition to the Ewigleben Sports Complex.
Granger Construction oversaw the subcontracting firms, which took up about 7,200 square feet of renovation work and the development of nearly 16,000 square feet of new construction to create the Center for Athletics Performance.
The Center for Athletics Performance and Bulldog Arena was officially unveiled March 19 with speeches being given by university president Bill Pink, athletic director Steve Bronkelbank, Ferris football alum and donor Luke Piepkow, Ferris volleyball head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, head strength and conditioning coach Andrew Thiede and volleyball student-athlete Syann Fairfield. — Big Rapids Pioneer
The Chesterfield (Mo.) Sports Association hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to mark the grand opening of the new Chesterfield Sports Complex, the largest indoor volleyball and basketball complex in the region.
The 97,000-square-foot facility features nine basketball courts that convert into 18 volleyball courts and are equipped with Olympic level flooring and HD/4K streaming cameras. A sophisticated LED lighting system is programmable with various lighting levels and colors to best illuminate basketball or volleyball action. Additional amenities include a fitness area, full food service operations, comfortable spectator seating courtside, second-floor mezzanine for game viewing, lounge areas and multipurpose rooms for team rooms, meetings and classes.
The state-of-the-art facility, at 150 N Eatherton Road, is anticipated to attract an estimated 900,000 visitors each year with 1,000 youth athletes practicing there each week and 2,500 athletes playing tournaments on the weekend.
The complex will be a major economic driver, expected to generate $3.6 million in local spending and more than 10,000 hotel room nights per year. Nearly 20 major regional and national sporting events, including martial arts and gymnastics meets, are scheduled between March and July, which attract out-of-town guests to the area to generate economic activity for local restaurants, hotels and retail establishments.
“A nonprofit association runs the facility, so it is not about the money. It is about the kids — giving them a safe environment to play sports but also taking care of them physically and mentally,” said Stuart Duncan, executive director of Chesterfield Sports Complex whose vision and leadership sparked the project. “With our performance training and medical partners, ACE Performance Lab and Mercy Sports Medicine, we are not only getting them on the court to develop their skill set but helping them health wise.”
A 4,200-square-foot ACE Performance Lab is under construction on the first and second floors and will provide performance training and muscle recovery programs. This facility will feature Olympic lifting stations and a 65-foot long, 15-foot wide turf area for speed and agility training using sleds and battle ropes. A recovery area will be equipped with tools to help athletes speed muscle recovery to prevent injury or during rehabilitation following an injury. ACE Performance Lab is scheduled to complete in May.
The project was funded by State Bank. The general contractor was Keystone Construction Co. The developer was Mia Rose Holdings. The architect was mw Weber Architects and the civil engineer was Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers Inc. — Chesterfield Sports Association
After an eight-month delay, Quillayute Valley School District’s new Spartan Stadium in Forks, Wash., will open April 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Renovation of the entire Spartan Stadium facility began in 2016, when the district replaced the grass field with artificial turf at a cost of $1.3 million. That is now matched by a 1,136-seat aluminum structure designed by BLRB Architects of Tacoma.
The district had anticipated the facility would be ready the last weekend of October, but a series of delays related to weather and materials — from reduced availability to late deliveries to grandstand columns that were the wrong length — pushed the Phase I completion date to the middle of December, then to January and then again to March.
The restrooms that are part of Phase II won’t be finished until the end of the year, but the stadium painted Spartan blue and gold will be ready for its official debut.
The facility is a significant improvement over the old Spartan Stadium, which Reaume said was built in 1962. Unlike its wood predecessor, the new stadium’s roof covers the entire seating area, it has a press box, plenty of electrical outlets and wi-fi connectivity. Announcements and music played over the sound system are clear and loud, not fuzzy and muffled.
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