Basketball and volleyball take center stage at The Fieldhouse Sportscenter, a multi-purpose sports facility in Springfield, Mo. Attracting student athletes and families from throughout the Midwest, the 46,000-square-foot complex hosts youth basketball and volleyball leagues and tournaments as well as a range of community events and gatherings.
Two separate metal gym buildings accommodate a total of four full-size basketball courts or six volleyball courts. The structures are connected by a structural steel building that provides a common gathering area that includes a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a video arcade, four party/conference rooms and storage areas.
“There were a lot of different elements that had to be tied in correctly to make the three different buildings work together effectively,” says David Ross, director of operations and project manager at Morelock-Ross, the Star builder that led the construction. “One of the most unique elements of this project is the energy-efficient envelope, which includes three-inch-thick insulated metal wall panels and a Simple Saver roof liner system with additional insulation.”
Contributing to the design aesthetic, the buildings combine several different custom exterior finishes.
“The project was designed to provide a distinguished façade along the James River, emphasizing the dynamics of activity and movement,” says Todd Bolin, project architect at H Design Group. “The design intent was to simplify the form and structure of the buildings and tie in the ideals of competition, sportsmanship and camaraderie through murals, signage and apparel.”
Located on a prominent site in the growing southwest part of Springfield, The Fieldhouse adds significant capacity to the city’s youth sports venues and attracts visitors from a 10-state Midwest region.
“There is a facility on the north side of the city that was busting at the seams,” says Craig Naugle, MD, a local physician and the primary investor in the project. “We knew there was a need, and my wife and I wanted to invest in the community that way. It’s really working well as a community center.”
Operating year-round, the facility is able to host upward of 70 teams per weekend in a single venue.
“I think it’s just a great place for families to get together,” Naugle says. “We also have community rooms that people can rent for birthday parties, lunch meetings, business groups and church lock-ins.”
Naugle’s primary goal was to raise the bar for youth sports facilities by providing an authentic playing atmosphere for athletes and their families, many of which travel several hundred miles to compete.
“It provides a much better flow than other facilities I’ve seen around the country,“ he says. “Most facilities tend to be barn-like structures, with a bunch of gyms stacked on top of each other. You get a lot of whistle noise, and kids are constantly distracted. What’s amazing about our facility is that once you’re in the common area looking through the windows, you can hardly hear anything in the gyms.”
The Fieldhouse also offers courtside seating and privacy curtains to provide acoustical separation between the courts.
“When people come here from out of state, they uniformly say they’ve never played basketball in a facility this nice. I hear that time and time again when we host tournaments,” he says.
Naugle is also blown away by the energy efficiency of the facility.
“Our utility bills are at least 25 to 30 percent less than we thought they would be when we were estimating that in our business plan,” he says. “It’s pretty remarkable.”
The complex was designed to accommodate future expansion through a second construction phase that will add an additional two gyms.
Project Credits
Owner/developer: Midwest Events Center LLC
General contractor: Morelock-Ross Builders Inc.
Architect: H Design Group LLC
Civil Engineer: Anderson Engineering
Structural Engineer: Mettemeyer Engineering LLC
MEP Engineer: Colvin Jones Davis LLC
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2013
$1 billion 'city within a city' development approved by Coachella, Calif., city council
The mega development includes 7,800 homes, a retail center, office space, and nearly 350 acres of open space.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 9, 2013
Tips for designing higher education's newest building type: the learning commons
In this era of scaled-down budgets, maximized efficiencies, new learning methods and social media’s domination of face time, college and university campuses are gravitating toward a new space type: the learning commons.
| Dec 4, 2013
First look: Dubai's winning bid for World Expo 2020 [slideshow]
Dubai has been chosen as the site of the 2020 World Expo. HOK led the design team that developed the master plan for the Expo, which is expected to draw more than 25 million visitors from October 2020 through April 2021.
| Dec 3, 2013
Historic Daytona International Speedway undergoing $400 million facelift
The Daytona International Speedway is zooming ahead on the largest renovation in the Florida venue’s 54-year history. Improvements include five redesigned guest entrances, an extended grandstand with 101,000 new seats, and more than 60 new trackside suites for corporate entertaining.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Video: Zaha Hadid's stadium for Qatar 2022 World Cup
Zaha Hadid Architects, in conjunction with AECOM, has released renderings for a major stadium being designed for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup--an event that will involve up to nine stadiums.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
