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Last Updated on November 15, 2024 by UDC Sports

Building a sports facility of any kind involves much more than just laying down turf and setting down some bleachers. It can include a broad spectrum of planning, design, and construction-related phases—each demanding its own set of skills and attention to detail.

Whether it’s a community soccer field or a professional baseball stadium, the process is like a long, intense season where every game—or in this case, phase—matters. There’s a whole orchestra of activities that need to be coordinated to make sure everything—absolutely everything—is game-ready when the first whistle blows.

A picture Field Goals: Managing Sports Construction Projects of with Republic SportsKey Stages in Building a Sports Field / Facility

Feasibility

Before any physical work begins, it’s important to conduct a feasibility study. This includes analyzing the proposed location, understanding the project’s needs and goals, evaluating potential environmental impact, and estimating financial considerations such as costs and funding sources.

Design

This phase involves architects and engineers creating detailed plans and designs for the facility. Considerations during this stage include, but are not limited to:

  • Layout of the sports facility
  • Audience capacity
  • Amenities (i.e. locker rooms and parking)

Regulatory Approvals

When the design is finalized, the project requires approval from various local and possibly state authorities. This process makes sure building codes are met and environmental and zoning laws are adhered to.

Procurement

At this point, it’s necessary to begin sourcing and contracting the materials, labor, and equipment needed to construct the facility. Competitive bidding might be used to select contractors and suppliers to ensure cost efficiency.

Construction

The actual building of the field, stadium, or other facility takes place during this phase. This phase involves numerous sub-phases, which can include (but are not limited to):

  • Site preparation, including land clearing and grading
  • Laying foundation
  • Building structural frameworks
  • Installing electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems
  • Constructing interior and exterior features specific to sports facilities (For example: turf, scoreboards, tracks, seating, etc.)

Throughout the construction process, ongoing inspections and quality control checks are necessary to make sure the facility meets all agreed specifications and regulatory standards.

Final Touches

This phase involves the completion of finishing touches such as painting, installing lighting and signage, and final landscaping. It also includes the installation of specialized sports equipment.

Commissioning

Before a sports facility opens, it should go through thorough testing to make sure everything from lighting to safety exits all operate correctly.

Grand Opening

Organizing a grand opening event can help in marketing the new facility to the community and stakeholders. It serves as a formal introduction of the space to potential users.

Operational Handover

The final step is the handover of the facility from the builders to the owners or operators. This usually includes training for staff on operations and maintenance procedures.

Tackling Teamwork Issues

As you can see above, building a sports field or facility can be a monumental task—one that involves a lot of completely unique phases and sub-phases.

Understandably, many project owners grapple with the challenge of coordinating multiple contractors and specialists to handle each distinct phase, from initial blueprints to final touches.

A picture Field Goals: Managing Sports Construction Projects of with Republic Sports

This traditional approach often leads to miscommunication between stakeholders, rising costs due to inefficiencies, and delays that push timelines further than expected.

This fragmentation not only complicates the process but can seriously compromise the overall integrity and functionality of the finished facility. That is, when different teams work in silos, without unified project management, it often leads to inconsistencies in the construction quality and discrepancies between the envisioned design and the actual outcome.

These issues can affect the usability of the sports facility, potentially leading to safety hazards, operational inefficiencies, and additional costs for future corrections or renovations. Here are some hypothetical examples of construction delays and other project issues to consider:

  • Football Stadium Construction:
    • Scenario: Delays in securing zoning approvals due to disagreements between the design team and local authorities. This can occur if initial plans don’t adequately address traffic concerns on game days, requiring a revisit of the ingress and egress plans.
  • Soccer Field Development:
    • Scenario: Miscommunication between the artificial turf suppliers and the sports field turf installation team leads to the wrong type of product being delivered, delaying the project and increasing costs.
  • Baseball Park Setup:
    • Scenario: Conflict arises when the architectural vision for a retro-style ballpark conflicts with modern safety regulations—requiring a redesign that impacts the timeline and budget.
  • Basketball Arena Construction:
    • Scenario: Technical issues with the retractable seating system arise due to insufficient coordination between the seating manufacturer and the on-site engineering team, leading to installation delays and holding up construction of the arena.
  • Tennis Court Installation:
    • Scenario: Discrepancies in surface material specifications between the planning and execution teams result in a surface not up to professional standards, necessitating a costly replacement.

A picture Field Goals: Managing Sports Construction Projects of with Republic Sports

Scoring with Project Management: Streamlining the Sports Construction Process

In sports construction, it’s about lining up the right team, having all the materials and plans in place—and yes, sometimes the weather needs to cooperate!

A more synchronized approach can mitigate these issues, ensuring seamless transition from each phase of the project to the next, preserving the original vision and operational goals of the sports facility.

The scope of services required to build a sports facility is vast and varied. Beyond the actual construction, there’s the design, planning, and engineering—each an integral part of bringing a project to life. Post-installation maintenance is also important for ensuring longevity.

Overseeing even a small construction project, like building a school sports field, can involve coordinating multiple contractors, which can lead to miscommunication and misaligned objectives.

With effective project management to eliminate redundancies and optimizes resources, it’s possible to lower the cost per square foot of constructing a sports facility.

Whether the project is as small as a junior high football field or as large as a professional stadium, it’s important to make sure throughout the process that needs are being met while maintaining high standards. Because by the time the contractors are putting on those final touches, it can start to feel like you’re in the final quarter, just minutes left on the clock, making sure every line is painted straight and every seat bolted down tight.

A picture Field Goals: Managing Sports Construction Projects of with Republic Sports

UDC Sports: Seamless Integration from Concept to Completion

At UDC Sports, we believe in handling every stage of the sports facility construction under one umbrella. This means when you work with us, you’re not just hiring contractors to build a field—you’re partnering with a team that oversees your project from its conceptual drawings to its grand opening.

This streamlined approach enhances communication, ensuring that each stage of the project aligns perfectly with the previous one, avoiding the common pitfalls of misaligned objectives.

By managing all aspects of the project, we reduce the complexity for you. This not only simplifies your role in the process but can cut down on administrative overhead and improve efficiency, making your project more cost-effective.

Our adherence to industry best practices ensures that we don’t just save costs—but we do so without compromising on the quality of your facility.

Imagine having a single point of contact for every query, concern, or idea you have about your project. That’s what we offer at UDC Sports.

A Broad Scope with Specialized Attention

Our services extend beyond sports field construction. We offer design, planning, consulting, field/surface installation and removal, equipment, and even post-installation maintenance. Our comprehensive service menu means that no matter the scale of your project—from a small community football field to a 10,000 seat stadium—we tailor our approach to meet your specific needs while ensuring the highest standards are met.

UDC Sports stands at the intersection of big-company resources and small-business attentiveness. We take the time to understand your vision thoroughly and work diligently to translate it into a fully-realized sports facility.

A picture Field Goals: Managing Sports Construction Projects of with Republic Sports

Ready to Build?

If you’re considering building a sports facility and dread the thought of managing countless contractors and complex schedules, talk to us at UDC Sports. We’re here to turn your vision into a reality—efficiently and effectively.

Connect with us today, and let’s discuss how your sports facility project can be the next success story. Give us a call at 828-518-5787 or click here to contact us.

UDC Sports

UDC Sports is a premier provider of sports field and facility construction services with over 20 years of experience. We are experts in all aspects of sports facility construction, from site preparation to drainage to turf installation, regardless of the sport. We stay up-to-date with the latest industry standards and practices, and our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is unwavering, as evidenced by our 100% client satisfaction rating. With years of experience in product selection and project management, UDC Sports combines state-of-the-art construction materials and methods with a creative approach to turning client visions into reality. Whether you're building a 10,000 seat stadium or a backyard batting cage, we're here to make sure your vision is accomplished.