New and Improved: Breaking Ground on New Stadiums, Grand Opening of Fargo Park Sports Center, and More

Breaking Ground

The Carolina Mudcats, the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league Triple-A affiliate, have broken ground on a new stadium in Wilson, N.C. The stadium will include 3,500 fixed seats with a total capacity of 4,500 on game day. It also will feature 10 to 12 suites, a ballpark club and banquet facility to accommodate up to 250 guests, food and beverage service, guest support facilities, a synthetic turf playing field, a kids’ play area and a 360-degree concourse around the roughly 6-acre ballpark.

The New Hope-Solebury (Penn.) School District broke ground on a $2.5 million stadium and fieldhouse project that will include additional seating, a fully equipped concessions area, team rooms, public restrooms and a breezeway offering views of the fields below.

First Pitch

The University of Georgia will begin construction in August on a 34,700-square-foot track and field facility that will include a nine-lane, 400-meter outdoor track with infield long jump, triple jump and pole vault facilities. The track will also include a grandstand, a press box, an observation deck, restrooms and concessions. A five-lane, 100-meter warmup track is sited beneath the grandstands, along with a sports medicine and recovery suite, and storage and office space. The facility will have 2,500 seats and 240 parking spaces. Planners intend for the parking spaces to also be used for soccer and softball, which have fields located across the street.

Rendering courtesy of Populous and Penn State

The Penn State Board of Trustees has approved the remaining $630 million in funding needed for an ongoing renovation of Beaver Stadium, which is slated to be completed in August 2027. The renovations, which are being overseen by architectural firm Populous, will include improved circulation, new restrooms, upgraded concessions offerings, Wi-Fi and additional premium seating options. The west side of the stadium (the one closest to campus) will be the main focus of most structural changes.

MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays have released renderings for a new ballpark development that will include a new stadium for the team, a 5,000-seat concert venue, a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, thousands of residential units and hundreds of hotel rooms. The development is sited on the land where Tropicana Stadium currently stands.

Grand Openings

The City of Hurricane, Utah, held a grand opening for the city’s new multi-use family gymnasium. The city combined two donated metal buildings to create the Lichfield Family Gymnasium. The facility includes six pickleball courts, four court areas for basketball and volleyball use, as well as floor space for community events, social gatherings and Hurricane Valley public recreation activities.

Fargo, N.D., held a grand opening for the first phase of the Fargo Parks Sports Center at the Sanford Sports Complex. The 290,000-square-foot facility includes a multi-use indoor turf field, four hardwood courts with cross courts, a championship court and second-floor sky box, meeting rooms, food and beverage services, a sport shop, Fargo Park District staff offices, a Midco-sponsored lounge and a 350-meter three-lane track, as well as the Sanford Sports Performance gym. Phase 2 of the project will bring the facility up to 400,000 square feet with the addition of two sheets of ice with enclosed spectator seating, four additional courts, six dedicated pickleball courts and an indoor playground. 

Oructt (Calif.) Academy High School held a grand opening for its new $12.5 million multi-use gymnasium, on which the school began construction in August 2022. The 14,000-square-foot building, which was primarily funded by a bond approved by district voters in 2016, will be used for physical education, school events and rallies, basketball games and volleyball matches.