A roundup of groundbreakings and grand openings.
Groundbreakings
Rendering of the Special Events Center at the University of Texas at ArlingtonEnvisioning an iconic facility that will provide a state-of-the-art concert and event venue to both the campus and the downtown area, officials at the University of Texas at Arlington broke ground in March for a Special Events Center, including a new home arena for the university's basketball and volleyball programs. Designed by Dallas-based HKS Inc., the $78 million, 218,000-square-foot facility will be able to accommodate more than 6,600 spectators for court-based athletic events, as well as 7,600 patrons for center-stage concerts.
Aside from athletics, recreation and concert spaces, the facility will include a 3,000-square-foot hospitality suite that can be divided depending on space needs, a media suite and a 3,100-square-foot academic center with a computer lab, a group study room and advising offices for athletes and other students. The center is expected to open in December 2011, and city leaders anticipate the arrival of numerous other mixed-use developments tying the campus community to the downtown area shortly thereafter.
Grand Openings
Photo of the Reverend Harold Ridley, S.J., Athletic Complex at Loyola University Maryland (Photo by Scott Suchman)The Greyhounds of Loyola University Maryland welcomed the March opening of the Reverend Harold Ridley, S.J., Athletic Complex, named in honor of the late Loyola president who was one of the early champions of the project. Benefitting from the largest individual gift in the university's history - a $5 million anonymous donation - the $62 million complex will be home to the school's Division I men's and women's lacrosse and soccer teams. Amenities include a 6,000-seat grandstand, synthetic turf practice and competition fields, a video scoreboard, training facilities, locker rooms, athletic department offices, concessions areas, event space and press, presidential and VIP boxes. . .
Representing just one of 17 capital-improvement projects throughout the Fort Collins campus of Colorado State University, the first phase of renovations to the Student Recreation Center was completed in March. The project included renovating 75 percent of the heavily used multipurpose gymnasium, as well as adding 75,000 square feet of activity space. New amenities include 38-foot-tall climbing towers, a bouldering area, staff offices, a smoothie bar and numerous group exercise rooms. As part of the $32 million project, a new fitness center and track are expected to open in August. . .
Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls left Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., in March to take up residence at the team's new soccer-specific stadium, the $200 million Red Bull Arena. The stadium includes 25,000 seats, all of which are covered by a translucent polycarbonate and aluminum roof structure. The seating bowl brings fans to as close as 21 feet from the touchlines. Located in and owned by the town of Harrison, a suburb of Newark, the stadium also incorporates 1,000 premium seats, 30 skyboxes, three stadium clubs, two retail shops, 65 concessions points of sale, two video boards and a 360-degree message board, more than 300 flat-screen monitors for event viewing and field-level LED signage.
