Recent groundbreakings, grand openings and building projects in development
Rendering of the University of Michigan Basketball Player Development Center (Rendering courtesy of TMP Architecture)Ground has been broken at the University of Michigan for the Basketball Player Development Center, the latest in a series of new athletic facilities throughout the main campus in Ann Arbor. The $23.2 million, 57,000-square-foot facility will include practice courts, staff offices, large locker rooms, athletic training and exercise areas, meeting spaces, a team video-viewing room and a Michigan Basketball Hall of Fame - all attached to the university's existing competition venue, Crisler Arena. Designed by Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based TMP Architecture in association with Denver-based Sink Combs Dethlefs, the center will be augmented by $20 million worth of renovations to the arena. . .
Rendering of the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus (Rendering courtesy of University of Colorado Denver)The University of Colorado Denver broke ground at its Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora for a 94,000-square-foot Health and Wellness Center. The project was made possible by $17 million in donations by the Anschutz Foundation. Designed by Cannon Design and Denver-based H+L Architecture, the facility will house the Center for Women's Health Research, and it will allow for collaborations by experts throughout the campus in the fields of nutrition, exercise, physiology and obesity/weight management. In addition to being a research facility, the center will offer numerous public programs, as well as exercise and nutrition services. Specific amenities will include a fitness center, a nutrition lab, a training kitchen, a restaurant and a grocery store.
First Pitch
The Austin, Texas, city council has approved spending $8.6 million to fund the construction of a new recreation center to be operated for at least its first 20 years by the Y. . .
The University of Washington has selected a developer for the $250 million renovation of Husky Stadium, expected to get under way next fall. . .
The Booker T. Washington High School Fieldhouse in Tulsa, Okla., has been demolished to eventually make way for a $9 million, 58,000-square-foot replacement. . .
The Woodlands, Texas, Township is exploring a public-private partnership to develop a new sports fields complex, and a developer is proposing donating a 23-acre site for the project. . .
The rural municipality of Macdonald, Manitoba, has gotten approval to borrow nearly all of the estimated $3.5 million needed to fund construction of a new recreation center in the rural community of La Salle. . .
The Hanover (Pa.) Public School District is considering either replacing the aging Sheppard-Myers field, a high school stadium complex, with a new $5.28 million complex or spending $2.5 million to renovate the facility. . .
The Sunriver (Ore.) Owners Association has approved funding for an $18.9 million aquatics facility, which will include indoor and outdoor pools and a lazy river, among other amenities. . .
The Carol Stream, Ill., park district has agreed to pay $1.6 million for six acres of land on which to construct a $17 million to $20 million recreation center. . .
Texas State University has announced a $32 million renovation plan for its Bobcat Stadium. The 30,000-seat stadium is expected to open in 2012, the same year the Western Athletic Conference has said it hopes to accept new members. . .
The University of Wisconsin athletic department has proposed developing a $78.6 million athletic performance center, which would include new football locker rooms and weight training areas. . .
Texas Christian University has announced a $105 million football stadium renovation project that calls for, among other amenities, a new press box and the addition of 24 suites and 2,300 club seats.
Grand Openings
Photo of Bradley University's arena and athletics complex (Photo courtesy of Bradley University Athletics)In September, the band Weezer was the first to rock Bradley University's new 4,200-seat arena and athletics complex. While the complex will regularly hold concerts and other community entertainment events, it will also support numerous Braves athletics and recreation programs. The $50 million, 165,000-square-foot facility includes multiple basketball and volleyball practice courts, and the competition arena features padded seats and numerous video boards. Other amenities include players' lounges, video viewing rooms, a training room with an underwater treadmill, and the glass-enclosed Braves Club room that overlooks the competition court. Heritage Hall is a museum-like room that pays tribute to the Braves' athletics history.
Photo of The WELL at California State University, Sacramento (Photo courtesy of Hornberger + Worstell)Students at California State University, Sacramento, have benefitted this semester from the opening of The WELL (Wellness, Education, Leisure, Lifestyle), a $71 million, 151,000-square-foot recreation center (left). The facility offers the university's 28,000 students and 3,400 faculty and staff members a broad spectrum of amenities including a climbing wall, four basketball courts, a large multiactivity court, cardio and weight training areas, and group exercise studios. Other wellness-related amenities include a pharmacy, a laboratory, and offices for physical therapy, nutrition, optometry and mental health. Among the facility's numerous sustainable features is an entrance atrium with a skylight made of innovative thermoplastic. The WELL's opening is part of Sac State's Destination 2010 celebration, the culmination of a campus facilities plan implemented in 2004.
