flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New Univ. of Texas Moody Center houses men’s and women’s basketball, other events

Sports and Recreational Facilities

New Univ. of Texas Moody Center houses men’s and women’s basketball, other events

A first-of-its-kind operable upper bowl closure screen converts the venue from 15,000 seats to a 10,000-seat configuration.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | April 27, 2022
Moody Center exterior photo
The Moody Center replaces the Frank C. Erwin Center, a 40-year-old arena. Courtesy Moody Center

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

University of Texas Moody Center.jpg
Photo: Moody Center
Moody Center ext 2
Rendering Gensler and Design Illustration Group LLC
Moody Center interior
Rendering Gensler and Design Illustration Group LLC
Moody Center Aerial
Rendering Gensler and Design Illustration Group LLC

 

Related Stories

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Oct 17, 2024

In the NIL era, colleges and universities are stepping up their sports facilities game

NIL policies have raised expectations among student-athletes about the quality of sports training and performing facilities, in ways that present new opportunities for AEC firms.

Designers | Oct 1, 2024

Global entertainment design firm WATG acquires SOSH Architects

Entertainment design firm WATG has acquired SOSH Architects, an interior design and planning firm based in Atlantic City, N.J. 

Products and Materials | Aug 31, 2024

Top building products for August 2024

BD+C Editors break down August's top 15 building products, from waterproof wall panel systems to portable indoor pickleball surface solutions.

Designers | Jul 29, 2024

Inclusive design for locker rooms: Providing equitable choice and access

SRG designers pose the question: What would it look like if everyone who wanted to use a restroom or locker room could? 

Great Solutions | Jul 23, 2024

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 15, 2024

Smart stadiums: The future of sports and entertainment venues

These digitally-enhanced and connected spaces are designed to revolutionize the fan experience, enhance safety, and optimize operational efficiency, according to SSR's Will Maxwell, Smart Building Consultant.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 23, 2024

The Cincinnati Open will undergo a campus-wide renovation ahead of the expanded 2025 tournament

One of the longest-running tennis tournaments in the country, the Cincinnati Open will add a 2,000-seat stadium, new courts and player center, and more greenspace to create a park-like atmosphere.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 25, 2024

How pools can positively affect communities

Clark Nexsen senior architects Jennifer Heintz and Dorothea Schulz discuss how pools can create jobs, break down barriers, and create opportunities within communities.

Mixed-Use | Apr 9, 2024

A surging master-planned community in Utah gets its own entertainment district

Since its construction began two decades ago, Daybreak, the 4,100-acre master-planned community in South Jordan, Utah, has been a catalyst and model for regional growth. The latest addition is a 200-acre mixed-use entertainment district that will serve as a walkable and bikeable neighborhood within the community, anchored by a minor-league baseball park and a cinema/entertainment complex.

Cultural Facilities | Apr 8, 2024

Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center

When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021