First Pitch
The NFL’s Chicago Bears have introduced plans for a new lakefront stadium that includes development of surrounding areas for recreational and community events, as well as an increase in open and green space, including 14 acres of athletic fields and recreational park space for use by public and youth sports programs. Aside from the planned stadium, the project features a three-acre promenade and plaza area that could include year-round food and beverage outlets, retail shops, and a cultural attraction focused on sports and Soldier Field history. A publicly owned hotel could also be included on the recreation and cultural campus. The Bears are hoping to break ground on the project in the summer of 2025, with a planned grand opening in the summer of 2028.
Norwin (Pa.) High School has introduced plans to renovate the school’s 60-year-old football stadium grandstand at a cost of around $3 million, while a complete tear down and rebuild would come in somewhere around $22 million. The district expects to get bids in 2025. If the full grandstand is replaced, construction is estimated to take 16 to 20 months.
The St. Joseph City (Mo.) Council is mulling partnering with the local YMCA to help finance construction for a new indoor aquatic facility. The YMCA is hoping to start work in the next three to five years on a new 35,000-square-foot facility in north St. Joseph, which as of now is projected to cost around $12 million.
Breaking Ground
Cedar Crest College has broken ground on a state-of-the-art softball stadium, marking the start of a $2.5 million renovation to Cynthia L. Blaschak Softball Field. The renovations will elevate the grass softball field into an all-year, all-weather synthetic turf field. Additional stadium lighting will also be installed, equipping the field for night games.
Rendering courtesy of the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame has broken ground on the new Jack and Kathy Shields athletic facility. The 150,000-square-foot venue is built with the aim of supporting the performance of student-athletes across all of Notre Dame’s 26 varsity sports. The facility will also support the human performance, sports science, medicine and nutrition departments. A price tag for the project was not disclosed, but is estimated to be in excess of $100 million.
Grand Openings
Bucknell University unveiled the newly completed Michael C. Pascucci Team Center. The 16,000-square-foot athletics hub will support football, men’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s track and field. The center includes a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility with a 6,000-square-foot weight room that overlooks the synthetic turf practice field. The weight room has 12 custom-made racks and 24 stations, as well as new weights, technology and turf flooring for mat drills. Adjacent to the weight room is a sports medicine center that provides student-athletes with preventative and rehabilitation treatments, including taping, stretching, hydrotherapy and injury evaluations.
Life Time continued its expansion across New York with the opening of Life Time Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. The opening of the new 37,000-square-foot athletic country club, which sits in the 51-story Brooklyn Crossing development in Prospect Heights, comes just days after the April 15 debut of Life Time PENN 1, featuring the most indoor pickleball courts in New York City.
