Athletic Center Renovation Designed to Improve Division I Facilities

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin recently opened a $33 million expanded sports center to accommodate all of its NCAA Division I athletic programs and recreational activities under one roof.

The university hired Venture Architects — a joint venture of Kahler Slater and Zimmerman Design Group — and Moody Nolan Inc. to design the Kress Events Center, which opened in Green Bay in time for the women’s basketball season last year.

The new center incorporates the original Phoenix Sports Center and includes a 4,000-seat arena for the women’s basketball and volleyball programs.

Designed to meet LEED Silver standards, the 170,000-square-foot center also includes a 12,000-square foot fitness center with a three-lane elevated walking and jogging track, a practice gymnasium, a turf gymnasium, administrative offices for the school’s athletic department, athletic locker suites, sports medicine and training rooms, classrooms, video rooms and press rooms.

It also provides a permanent venue for musical performances, commencements and convocations.

Some of the sustainable design strategies that were incorporated in the center include extensive natural lighting, use of materials with recycled content and low-maintenance landscaping.

The new facility expands the Phoenix Center, which had seating for 1,200 people and a four-court gym.

“The existing building was very dated and in need of repair,” says Jeffrey Piette, Kahler Slater’s project manager. “The basketball courts saw extensive use every day and really weren’t at a Division I level of quality.” 

Piette and his design team focused on building’s exterior to create a dramatic design to bring it closer to the campus core and to make it more accessible to the student body. A sweeping, curved coated-steel roof was designed for the events center and practice gym provide cotemporary sight lines.

The facility includes a 51,000-square-foot coated steel, standing seam room that was installed as a continuous, non-seam section.

“We wanted the new center to be an attractive, highly visible addition to the school, as well as a source of pride for students, faculty, staff and community members seeking expanded opportunities for fitness and recreational activities,” Piette says.