Page 15 - School Planning & Management, November 2017

DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING A FOOTBALL STADIUM: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Andy Miller, AIA, project architect in the Indianapolis office of Fanning Howey, shares advice for school ad- ministrators embarking on a football stadium project.
• Prioritiesfirst.Thedistrict’suseof the facility is the highest priority, fol- lowed by community usage. “You do want to reach out the community,” says Miller, “but make sure that any or all school activities are accom- modated first. You want to maximize the use of the facility, and that starts with school use.”
• Money. While it’s nice to see money coming in from renting the facility, don’t expect that rentals will fund it. On the other hand, there are funding cycles and costs involved with running the facility, and sometimes sponsor- ships can help alleviate those costs.
• Extended use. Today’s sports stadiums have to have multiple uses: football, track, soccer, lacrosse and more. “A lot of times even the park- ing lots are used by the community for fairs or flea markets, says Miller. “The point is to maximize the use of the facilities — do whatever you can to get people to, in and around the facility to add value.”
• Scheduling. Someone has to sched- ule activities and keep an eye on how the facility is being used. Scheduling could become a burden if it’s a small school system, so plan for it.
• Plan for the future. If you want to provide the maximum that you can afford now, yet expand as money becomes available, you can plan for that during the initial design.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FANNING HOWEY
partnership with St. Vincent Health, which would not have occurred without the con- struction. “In this partnership,” says Robi- son, “we have a school corporate employee clinic that saved us $700,000 in our general fund in the first year by driving people to the clinic instead of the emergency room. In addition, they handle our concussion compliance, sports training, and school nursing. The partnership is a win-win for both the district and St. Vincent.”
The stadium is rented to other organiza- tions when not in use by the district. For example, Boy Scouts, a youth football league, the Rotary Club and more have used it. “In
our second year, we were a site for a 240- team soccer tournament, drawing teams from all across the Midwest,” says Robison. “We developed a QR code to help visitors find tables at restaurants. Drawing the revenue strengthened our partnership with the entire community. It’s a host of value added.”
Community use, however, is not the stadium’s foremost purpose. Foremost is the district’s educational program. “High school sports used to be called an accommodation that kept students in school,” says Robison. “But we have an opportunity through clubs, and middle school and high school athletics to cause students to be gainfully occupied in a structured setting. And they learn many of life’s lessons through it, such as teamwork, caring for your health, culture building and ceremony. Nearly 80 percent of our students are active in an extracurricular activity. I fully believe that it’s a lifesaving enterprise in which we engage.”
One of parts of the football stadium
in which district administrators can brag is the price tag. Robison explains: “We were in a situation in Indiana where major tax reform was about to occur. The bond money was coveted because we were on a sinking ship in terms of operational funds. With great advice from all audiences, we timed it so we bid $20 million worth of work and got it for $12 million once the recession hit. We got almost $10-million worth of timing-based savings.”
The stadium itself and all of the dis- trict’s athletic venues (there is a satellite athletic complex with baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, and practice fields) are not very opulent, especially consider- ing that Zionsville is one of the wealthiest communities in the area. “The facilities are nice but not as tony as some of the districts around us,” Robison notes. “The notion that districts go for opulence and over-the- top Friday night lights doesn’t apply here.”
There you have it. How do you cast your vote: For high-priced, extravagant, and unnecessary, or for what is necessary to provide students with high-quality, well- roundededucation? SPM
NOVEMBER 2017 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 15