The University of Nebraska Omaha’s hockey program has experienced modest success since its establishment in 1997, but last year marked the Crimson and Black’s first brush with the elite. The Mavericks reached the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four, the semifinal round of the NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.
TOP 50 SPORTS FACILITY ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Populous $113,741,160
2. HKS $81,220,737
3. HOK $58,589,000
4. Gensler $42,850,000
5. HNTB Corporation $13,419,171
6. Cuningham Group Architecture $10,238,235
7. Moody Nolan $9,800,000
8. Sink Combs Dethlefs $9,719,919
9. VOA Associates $9,577,715
10. Stantec $8,654,844
TOP 60 SPORTS FACILITY CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Mortenson Construction $837,136,000
2. AECOM $692,550,000
3. Turner Construction Co. $452,522,888
4. PCL Construction Enterprises $368,505,497
5. Manhattan Construction Group $277,528,000
6. Barton Malow Co. $266,882,651
7. Holder Construction Co. $154,000,000
8. Skanska USA $150,328,639
9. Brasfield & Gorrie $141,714,487
10. Pepper Construction Group $129,770,000
TOP 30 SPORTS FACILITY ENGINEERING FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. AECOM $30,000,000
2. Thornton Tomasetti $21,316,147
3. ME Engineers $18,950,000
4. Walter P Moore $18,678,163
5. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $18,245,000
6. Henderson Engineers $18,179,333
7. Smith Seckman Reid $7,981,930
8. Jacobs $6,930,000
9. Magnusson Klemencic Associates $4,134,707
10. KJWW / TTG $3,320,000
UNO hockey’s good times keep rollin’ on. Last fall, the school opened the $86 million, 220,000-sf Baxter Arena, the team’s new home. Designed by HDR and Lempka Edson Architects, the 7,898-seat arena has 17 luxury suites, 750 club seats, and a 750-seat student section. Open concourses let fans see the game even when standing in line for concessions. A split bowl design keeps spectators on top of the ice.
The arena, which also hosts basketball and volleyball, isn’t just for UNO sports. The building is a focal point for the entire community. An attached community ice rink stands at the front of the building. (The UNO varsity plays on the main rink.) The public can access the community rink for open skate, curling, and club hockey. With 25-to-30-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, light is drawn in during the day; at night, visitors outside the building can peer in and see the ice.
In addition to concerts, shows, and lectures, Baxter Arena has emerged as the preferred setting for local graduation ceremonies. The Omaha World-Herald reported that 13 area high schools booked the arena for commencements this spring. The arena’s seating capacity is comfortably in between constrictive and cavernous. Free parking for 2,400 vehicles will easily accommodate all its guests.
Other schools are renovating existing structures or building new sports facilities that can serve the student body and surrounding community.
GAINING YEAR-ROUND USE
The 9,500-seat Pavilion at Ole Miss, in Oxford, Miss., opened in January. Home to the Rebels’ men’s and women’s basketball teams, the University of Mississippi’s multipurpose arena, designed by AECOM, also hosts concerts, events, and academic and student activities. A retractable lower bowl allows seating for group lectures and convocations.
The Pavilion Club on the eastern side of the arena serves as multi-use club space between basketball and football seasons. Since it’s right across a walkway from Vaught Hemingway Stadium, it will be a pre-game and game club during football season.
Even on non-game days during the week, students can access a food court just inside the north arena entry. It features two concession stands and comfortable seating, with a covered exterior plaza space.
MIXING SPORTS AND ACADEMICs in south bend
The University of Notre Dame is undertaking an even more complex sports/academic project. The South Bend, Ind., school is in the throes of turning Notre Dame Stadium into the hub of the campus. Total stadium capacity is being enlarged by 3,000–4,000 seats. Vinyl-clad benches are replacing wood bench seats, and a new video board and ribbon boards are being installed.
But the upgrade doesn’t stop at the stadium ticket window. Three new academic buildings are being built onto the stadium. The Campus Crossroads Project will add more than 800,000 sf of classroom, research, digital media, event, and student life space.
Nate Appleman AIA, LEED AP, HOK’s Director of Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment, says university officials looked at the site and determined that they had the room to turn the site into a focal point right in the core of campus. He says the question became, How does Notre Dame capitalize on that?
The nine-story Duncan Student Center sits on the west side. The first five floors contain fitness facilities, lounges, a meeting room, a career services center, a dining area, and a ballroom. The upper floors have gameday features like premium seating and booths for coaches and media.
The nine-story Corbett Family Hall, which houses the anthropology and psychology departments and a digital media center, sits on the east side. Its upper levels have the stadium press box, outdoor club seating, and club space. The seven-story Music and Sacred Music hall for the Department of Music and the Sacred Music program is located to the south. That facility has recital and rehearsal halls, a music library, and a lounge. Mechanical space for the scoreboard and football operations is on the uppermost story.
HOK was the sports, recreation, and hospitality consultant to S/L/A/M Collaborative (design architect). HOK designed in-stadium features, such as n loge boxes and press facilities. The new HOK-designed Student Recreation Center in the Duncan Student Center features an indoor track, a four-story climbing wall, boxing areas, and training turf. The facility triples the amount of fitness space available to students. The firm also designed terraces on each building that will offer views of the playing field and campus.
Appleman says that the concept of making a stadium into an environment that’s inhabited 365 days a year as a campus core building is an idea that’s replicable.
“This is going to be something that’s going to spread like wildfire throughout the college landscape, no doubt,” he says.
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 90 Healthcare Sector Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and IMEG Corp. head the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 170 Healthcare Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
HDR, CannonDesign, HKS, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
Designers / Specifiers / Landscape Architects | Oct 6, 2022
DAHLIN announces acquisition of Design Line Interiors
DAHLIN Architecture | Planning | Interiors announced today that it is expanding its interiors capabilities with the acquisition of Del Mar, California-based Design Line Interiors.
Contractors | Oct 6, 2022
Modular construction gets boost from impacts of the pandemic
The impact of the Covid pandemic on the construction industry appears to be fueling demand for modular construction methods, especially in the western U.S. and Canada.
Laboratories | Oct 5, 2022
Bigger is better for a maturing life sciences sector
CRB's latest report predicts more diversification and vertical integration in research and production.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 5, 2022
Co-living spaces, wellness-minded designs among innovations in multifamily housing
The booming multifamily sector shows no signs of a significant slowdown heading into 2023. Here is a round up of Giants 400 firms that are driving innovation in this sector.
Contractors | Oct 5, 2022
Materials shortages, cost spikes throwing Design-Bid-Build process out of whack
The traditional Design-Bid-Build delivery process is under considerable stress this year as materials shortages and cost spikes are upending usual practices, according to a new report from JLL.
Green | Oct 5, 2022
In California, a public power provider’s new headquarters serves as a test case for an innovative microgrid and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), the public power provider for California’s Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, recently unveiled its new all-electric headquarters.
Contractors | Oct 4, 2022
Which comes first, the building or the cost estimate?
At the start of a project, don’t forget to establish financial parameters when you’re discussing the design and program. By establishing the costs up front, you can avoid the pitfalls that might derail your project and guarantee its lasting success.
Fire and Life Safety | Oct 4, 2022
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings
Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.
