Grand Openings
Designed as a hub for sports and entertainment, the new 35,000-capacity, $310 million Snapdragon Stadium at San Diego State University opened in September. The stadium’s signature design elements, including concourse level “neighborhoods” and standing-room-only “piers” that jut out over stadium seating, are designed to reflect the city’s diverse communities and combine to create a venue that is authentically San Diego. The stadium will be the home field for SDSU Aztec football, as well as for professional and collegiate soccer, NCAA championship games, concerts and other cultural events.
A $35 million student recreation facility at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., is nearing completion. The 80,000-square-foot facility includes a 12,000-square-foot fitness center, an esports gaming center with specialized lighting for competitions, a players lounge, a computer lounge, three large gymnasiums, offices and more. The center was originally set to open in February 2021, but the COVID pandemic and supply chain issues pushed the public opening ceremony to late September 2022.
First Pitch
California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif., announced a new 14,200-square-foot baseball and softball clubhouse. The Lancers Outdoor Athletic Complex is expected to be completed by summer 2024, and will feature new locker rooms, sports medicine and physical therapy spaces, offices for coaching staff and a conference room. The facility will also feature balconies overlooking both fields, providing a unique perspective with great views.
Boise State Athletics in Idaho has updated details for its $129.4 million north end zone project at Albertsons Stadium and $13.9 million in renovations to ExtraMile Arena. In the stadium’s north end zone, the vision for a state-of-the-art facility constructed at field level will support an enhanced premium club experience and a year-round dining program for student-athletes. ExtraMile Arena’s updates include expanded performance and training capabilities for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as add premium game-day experience opportunities for fans. These and other projects are part of the department’s Athletics Master Village, which includes more than $300 million in future projects.
Breaking Ground
The Kansas City Current broke ground this month on the National Women’s Soccer League club’s new $117 million riverfront stadium. Renderings for the 11,500-seat stadium — the first such facility purpose-built for a women’s professional soccer team — include a curved, undulating canopy for the south end and a south concourse club bar. The stadium’s open design keeps the bar close to the pitch with clear sightlines. The stadium is anticipated to open in 2024.
Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky., held a ceremony in late August celebrating start of construction on the university’s soccer/softball complex that will house both teams during games and training. The new building will feature locker rooms for both teams, office space, athletic training rooms, meeting space, visiting locker rooms, dressing rooms for officials and an indoor training space.
