New designs and major renovations of college stadiums and arenas are taking inspiration from the pros in seating arrangements and amenities.
“Our research shows that fans want a new game-day experience,” says Sherri Privitera, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal with Populous. “It’s no longer as simple as providing fans a seat, a hot dog, and a soda.”
Game attendance at some major universities has declined in recent years. Stadium renovations are a big part of the strategy to win fans back.
Luxury boxes, club seating, and a wider variety of food and drink options are musts. When Baylor University fans expressed interest in making it easier to bring children to football games, the school added a stroller check, new family-friendly restrooms with diaper-changing counters, and stools to make it easier for toddlers to access sinks, says Privitera.
Training facilities are also getting nutrition stations, meeting rooms replete with the latest technology, and cushy lounges, all aimed at providing what athletes need to reduce their need to travel around campus. “Players are there for a certain number of hours, and efficient use of their time is so important,” says Fred Ortiz, AIA, Principal and Director of East Coast Sports & Entertainment with HKS.
ALSO SEE: BD+C Giants 300 sports rankings
Top 40 sports architecture firms
Top 20 sports engineering firms
Top 50 sports construction firms
Training facilities are dedicating space to academic study and tutoring. “It’s very much like planning an office project,” says Ortiz. Features include movable partitions and seating, projection screens, flexible-height computer screens, and extensive daylighting.
All these efforts are designed to wow prospective student-athletes, Ortiz says. In most cases, the university does not subsidize these improvements, Privitera says. Instead, bonds backed by alumni donations and revenue from ticket sales and premium amenities foot the bill.
SEE ALL 2017 GIANTS 300 RANKINGS
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 75 Office Sector Engineering Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and Burns & McDonnell head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 135 Office Sector Architecture Firms
Gensler, HOK, and Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
OFFICE SECTOR GIANTS: Today’s workplace design must appeal to Millennials’ ‘activity-based’ lifestyle
Office market AEC Giants discuss the latest trends workplace design, and the state of the office construction sector.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 37 Engineering/Architecture Firms
Jacobs, AECOM, and Thornton Tomasetti head Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 56 Engineering Firms
Fluor, Arup, and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
Giants 400 | Aug 5, 2015
ENGINEERING GIANTS: Profits, revenue on the rise at U.S. engineering firms as economy sputters back to life
The vast majority of engineering firms are decidedly bullish on revenue growth for 2015, and profitability is nearing a six-year high, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 4, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 64 Architecture/Engineering Firms
Stantec, HOK, and Callison RTKL top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest architecture/engineering firms in the United States.
Giants 400 | Aug 4, 2015
GIANTS 300 REPORT: Top 106 Architecture Firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, and Kohn Pedersen Fox top Building Design+Construction's 2015 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
Giants 400 | Aug 4, 2015
ARCHITECTURE GIANTS: 21 practice management innovations from architecture Giants
Design firms have gone all out with management innovations in the last year. Check out which ones might work for your firm.
Giants 400 | Jul 17, 2015
2015 GIANTS 300 REPORT: Innovations and trends from America's largest AEC firms
BD+C's ranking of the top 300+ firms in the architecture, engineering, and construction fields
