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Suffolk Construction has created a new unit dedicated to sports construction and tapped a former Nike executive to lead the charge.
The Boston-based contractor has it inaugurated a Sports Center of Excellencea national business unit dedicated to stadiums, training facilities, arenas, collegiate recreation centers and other venues, according to an Oct. 1 announcement.
To lead the new unit, the contractor has tapped executive vice president Matt Swaim, who brings more than 25 years of experience delivering sports and entertainment projects, according to the announcement. Swaim joined Suffolk in 2024according to his LinkedIn.
Before coming to the national contractor, he held a role at Nike as vice president of real estate, design and construction, according to the announcement. While at the company, Swaim led the master planning and delivery of its 300-acre, 4 million square foot campus expansion.
In his new position, Swaim will help the builder improve its preconstruction and planning practices, support the staffing of the Suffolk project and advance consistent approaches to risk management, scheduling and execution across the unit, according to the announcement.
Suffolk emphasized the role that preconstruction will play in this venture. To that end, the company named Will Gamba as vice president of preconstruction for the firm’s Sports and Entertainment sector. In this role, Gamba will manage the pre-construction of major Suffolk sports projects from design through to the maximum guaranteed price phase.
Suffolk labeled the creation of his new unit new trends in the construction of stadiums. As sites become more complex, feature tighter deadlines and year-round usage, builders are gearing up to deliver more and faster.
“Sports projects require a level of planning, coordination and execution that matches the importance of the opening day deadline,” Swaim said in the news release. “But delivering a successful sports facility is about more than meeting a date. It’s about understanding how a venue will operate, connect with its community and perform long after opening day.”
