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A lot of money is allocated to the creation of new sports venues, and not only to professional teams.
In recent years, stadium construction has evolved to focus more on cultivating the game day experience. Some multimillion-dollar projects break ground, such as existing spaces are renovateds. Both types of projects see expansions that include new massive video screens, upgraded seating or suites, and concourses to provide more amenities for fans.
According to Michael Hessert, senior director of PBK Sports, this evolution is reaching beyond the highest level of professional sports. It is the sports arm of the Houston architecture firm PBK, which has designed projects for various types of sports teams, including football, swimming and softball, at schools such as the University of Texas, Texas A&M and the University of Houston.
Here, Hessert talks to Construction Dive about how stadium design is changing and why general admission seating may be less common in the future.
The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Construction Immersion: In your experience, what is the difference between building a professional sports venue and a stadium on a college campus?
MICHAEL HESSERT: Not too long ago, I would say the difference was quite marked. You have a higher level of expectation from the fan base on a professional site. But I think those lines are becoming very blurred. It’s a top-down arms race, and we see it in our business.
Michael Hessert
Permission granted by PBK Sports
The trends and expectations of a more sophisticated fan base are making their way from pro to collegiate through the different levels of college athletics from DI, DII, DIII, middle school and even high school. We’re seeing things in our K-12 practice that we wouldn’t have seen five or ten years ago.
For K-12, we see more focus on athlete nutrition recovery, strength development and conditioning, but also on spectator and fan expectation. It’s really about bigger graphics cards, better sound systems, variations in seat types for all levels.
It could be a feature that we’re in Texas, where football is king, but we see it in many different types of buildings, be it stadiums, stadiums, or arenas. It’s just a much more sophisticated fan base and they’re used to seeing certain things, either in person or on TV. Fans have come to expect them at virtually every event they go to.
How has the design evolved to improve the fan experience?
I think what you’re seeing now is a much wider diversity of services and what I’ll call “properties” within a site. Take seat types. In the good old days of 20 years ago, you’d have a lower bowl, you’d have clubs, you’d have suites, and then you’d have upper seats in the nosebleed sections.
Today you have courtside seating, courtside lounges, all kinds of suites and clubs and different types of amenities that offer a wide variety of fans an experience.
And it’s about generating revenue. Whereas before you might have had four categories that stacked vertically from lower cost to higher cost, the more layers you can put in now, the more you can push the revenue dollar higher and increase your income stream without adding more. seats
I think there will be a trend. What you will see is a reduction in the amount of seats to offer different types of seats. Thus, owners will voluntarily reduce the number of seats their facilities can have in order to increase the revenue stream by offering more amenities and a wider diversity of experiences.
Are you seeing more renovations from locals looking to catch up and get these amenities?
I think so. I think those that have the geometry or the backbone to be able to support it within their existing structure, sure, I think you’ll see that. Because it’s cheaper in many ways to renovate something you already have or is paying for than it is to go out and build something new, especially in the professional market where you’re talking about a billion dollars or more for new installations.
Back to school construction, are there opportunities for builders looking to get into stadium construction at every level?
You know, in the last two or three years we’ve finished a 10,000-seat football stadium here in Texas, which the master plan will be expandable to 15,000 seats. And it rivals anything you’d find at a DII, DIII, college level and probably rivals some Division I as well. So projects like this attract the bigger contractors—Gilbane, Manhattan, those kinds of people.
I think you’re seeing contractors who used to work at the professional level moving down into the college and secondary market along with the projects, because the projects are getting to a certain size that it’s worth their attention and expertise. deliver
What else do contractors need to know about the industry?
The name, image and likeness rules and the transfer portal are changing the paradigm of collegiate athletics. Collegiate athletics is in the process of transitioning from an amateur to a semi-professional environment. This change has a broad impact on athletic departments, but specifically on the recruitment and retention of athletes. The ease with which athletes can now move from one program to another, seeking greater personal brand recognition and income, has placed coaches and athletic directors in an unfamiliar environment.
One of the areas of impact is the old models of recruitment and retention, i.e. facilities. While there has always been pressure and the need to evolve and improve facilities, it is now accelerating and amplifying. To be competitive in recruiting and retaining top college athletes, programs must provide “big stages” for their athletes to perform. Similar to the arena or competition venue are all the facilities and support services, such as student success centers, nutrition, sports medicine, training and performance centers, locker rooms, among d ‘others that provide an environment of excellence. The need to improve the student-athlete environment is much greater.
Also, I think what you’re going to see is a broader diversity or a new way to get financing and building projects, whether it’s public-private partnerships or equity groups.
In the past, you might expect to have an owner and a contractor or even a program manager. But now I think you’re going to have developers coming in and just more parts of the contract and the process.
