The recently completed 530,000-sf University of Texas Moody Center is the new home for men’s and women’s basketball at the Austin campus. At full capacity, the arena, located in a former parking lot just south of Mike A. Myers Stadium, the home of Longhorn track and field and soccer teams, will seat 15,000 spectators.
The structure can also host more intimate events when a first-of-its-kind operable upper bowl closure screen converts the venue from 15,000 seats to a 10,000-seat configuration. Inside the building, the advanced roof structure supports amenities designed to make the building flexible for a variety of events: a central retractable video board and a 250,000-lb. show rigging grid including an extensive tension wire rigging platform.
These features are expected to make Austin a major destination for touring shows. The arena bowl precast seating units accommodate an efficient under-seat air distribution system, helping to make the Moody Center one of the most sustainable arenas in the U.S., according to a news release by structural engineer Walter P Moore.
The site presented a significant structural challenge due to slopes up to 50 feet moving from west to east. A deep retention system with heights up to 70 feet was employed, which is “unprecedented for an arena structure,” the release says.
Much of the arena is underground, and a concrete frame forms the primary structure of the building. Daylighting is provided at the upper concourse at the east side and the main concourse at the west side.
Around the perimeter of the building, the long-span steel roof cantilevers up to 75 feet beyond the edge, creating shaded entry spaces. The cantilevered roof floats above an extensive glass curtain wall.
The Moody Center replaces the Frank C. Erwin Center, a 40-year-old arena. That iconic structure was demolished to make way for the expansion of the Dell Medical School.
Owner and/or developer: The University of Texas System Office of Facilities Planning & Construction
Design architect: Gensler
MEP engineer: Henderson Engineers
Structural engineer: Walter P Moore
General contractor/construction manager: AECOM Hunt
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 15, 2021
Aston Martin breaks ground on new F1 headquarters
The project is located in Northamptonshire.
Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2021
2021 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
The 2021 Giants 400 Report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 25, 2021
The rise of entertainment districts and the inside-out stadium
Fiserv Forum, home to the 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks, proved that the design of the space outside a stadium is just as important as inside.
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 18, 2021
Populous’ design takes center stage for MLB’s Field of Dreams game
The movie-inspired ballpark is located in Dyersville, Iowa.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 5, 2021
Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence opens at the University of Texas at San Antonio
Populous designed the project in collaboration.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 5, 2021
Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium completes
Gensler designed the project.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 16, 2021
A new stadium in San Diego tops off
This will be part of a 135-acre campus innovation district.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 13, 2021
New York Liberty unveil new locker room renovation project at Barclays Center
A women-led team from Shawmut Design and Construction and Generator Studios conceptualized and completed the project.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 7, 2021
Chicago’s first indoor track and field facility features a hydraulically banked track
It is the first hydraulically banked track in Illinois.
