{"id":19983,"date":"2024-08-20T17:50:41","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T07:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=19983"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:17:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:17:25","slug":"is-mass-timber-the-game-changer-for-next-gen-pro-sports-facilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/is-mass-timber-the-game-changer-for-next-gen-pro-sports-facilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Mass Timber the Game Changer for Next-Gen Pro Sports Facilities?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s fast, light, and price-competitive (compared to traditional steel-and-concrete building systems). Which begs the question: Do timber-and-steel and timber-and-concrete construction systems hold the key to the next generation of high-performance sports facilities, a market expected to mushroom from US $27.8 billion in 2023 to US $50.8 billion by 2035?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes as Wood Central reported last year that NBA powerhouse the San Antonio Spurs officially opened its US $510m Victory Capital Performance Center\u2014considered a game changer in long-span wood construction for high-performance athletic buildings. At the same time, the Denver Broncos are weeks away from breaking ‘Bronco Park’ a new elite training facility at Englewood which now combines cross-laminated timber, with stone and concrete.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Damani Leech, president of the Denver Broncos, the decision on material choice came after the project team, which includes architecture firms HOK and Rockwell Group, and builders Mortenson, PCL Construction, and Turner, “toured facilities from several professional sports teams \u2014 including the Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Denver Broncos last year unveiled plans to build a new state-of-the-art US $175m campus in Colorado – Wood Central understands that plans to build the new facilities – out of timber, stone and steel, are weeks away from breaking ground. Rendering provided by HOK (Courtesy of Denver Broncos)<\/em>
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But it’s not just in North America where sports administrators are turning to timber-based construction systems with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club<\/em> replacing its “ageing concrete dome” with a timber-curved roof made from a steel-and-timber hybrid system in time for Wimbledon.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The pre-curved Birch veneered panels lining the ceiling still give a sense of the handcrafted quality we originally aspired to,” according to Mike Taylor, the Principal of Hopkins Architects, who added that the (new) indoor (practice) courts optimise playing conditions, with perforations in the pre-curved timber roof panels enhancing acoustic conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The All England Clubs all new indoor tennis centre as designed by Hopkins Architecture. Wood Central understands that the curved birch veener roof is supported by a steel-based frame. (Image Credit: Hopkins Archiecture)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to Paul Fast, founder of Fast + Epp<\/a>, increased interest in wood-constructed sports facilities is “absolutely” there, with Fast + Epp involved in several aquatic, basketball and hockey facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With recreation facilities, there is more and more interest, primarily driven by the fact that wood brings ambience into the design,” said Mr Fast, whose portfolio includes examples of impressive mass timber roofed structures – including the PNE Amphitheatre, the world’s largest timber arch roof now under construction in Vancouver.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It just adds a dimension of warmth and ambience into an arena or spectator experience that I think has been under-valued, under-estimated.”<\/p>Paul Fast, founder of Fast + Epp who has been responsible for 24 recreational mass timber projects, including Richmond Oval Park, used in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But it also needs to be financially viable, a point not lost on Mr Fast, who said engineers and architects must show that wood is price-competitive with steel and concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have to be very disciplined with your design approach; otherwise, the cost can run away,” says Jean-Marc Dubois, Director of Business Development with Nordic Structures, a Montreal-based cross-laminated timber fabricator who spoke to Building Design and Construction<\/a>. “If you are disciplined and sensible, you can make it work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuilding these sporting facilities allows us to prove out the engineering that is essential for tall timber highrise buildings,\u201d according to Mr Dubois. \u201cTimber plays well with both, but it also encapsulates the carbon, and I think it\u2019s an essential element for us to be able to mitigate climate change in the long haul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fast+Epp are at the forefront of the push to use timber systems in high-performance facilities, including the Raymond Olympic Oval, which hosted twelve events as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo Credit: Fast+Epp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for the Spurs Victory Capital Performance Center, fabricated by StructureLam North America and installed by Timberlayne, is a 140,000-square-foot project that uses the largest continuous glulams on the market. Twenty beams\u2014each 130 feet long and 75 inches deep\u2014achieve its clear-span interior while pushing the limits of available materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Based on the feedback so far on the facility, there is a strong appreciation for the quality of light and the connection to the outdoors and the feel of the timber-exposed interior\u2014and everybody seems to love the quality of the wood,” according to Kathy Berg, ZGF Architect’s lead architect for the project. <\/a>“And I think it can encourage new possibilities for using more wood in professional sports facilities in the future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n