Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Cincinnati: Sheakley Athletics Center

  • 03/01/15
Sheakley Athletics Center

PHOTOS © JOE HARRISON, JH PHOTOGRAPHY INC.

For the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) Intercollegiate Athletics program to remain competitive in the field and classroom, recruit the best athletes/coaching staff and position itself for athletic conference realignment, it needed an additional on-campus training facility. The challenge for this land-locked urban university was to think “outside the box” when developing a new outdoor practice facility large enough to provide adequate space for both outdoor and indoor training.

The complex, designed by MSA Sport (a division of MSA Architects, with offices in Cincinnati and Columbus, OH) includes a full-regulation field, a half practice field, team meeting rooms, press/coaches box, filming tower and fan amenities. From March through November the complex is a football practice facility and a women’s lacrosse competition stadium with full spectator functions and 1,000 seats. During the off-season, an inflatable dome, aka “the bubble,” is installed, allowing for year-round use.

This combination of an outdoor “gameready” facility and indoor “all-purpose” facility is unprecedented in the Midwest for an NCAA Division 1 university. The resulting complex not only benefits the football and lacrosse programs, but also the entire student-athlete population, allowing them easy access to the complex from the UC’s Varsity Village.

While athletics played a significant role in program development, overall integration into the Master Plan and academic goals of the university was essential, including:

  • Providing a “first class” venue to allow athletes to train, compete and succeed at the highest level while being close to the heart of the academic and residence-life heart of campus.
  • Rigid competition facility dimension specifications.
  • Full vehicle and pedestrian access that can be closed during practices and games for maximum efficiency.
  • Integration of public spaces, campus and urban framework around the facility edges.
  • A 60-foot topographic elevation change.
  • Incorporating a 5,000,000-gallon chilled water storage tank under the half practice field, thereby saving UC $1 million per year in utility costs.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.