Sportsplex at Matthews
When designing the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. (about 10 miles southeast of Charlotte), Woolpert balanced stakeholder input with client needs to deliver a final product that exceeded project requirements.
Wanting to take advantage of the booming sports-tourism industry, Mecklenburg County hired Woolpert to design a tournament-caliber athletics facility. The County also aimed to secure a high level of community support for the large facility before even breaking ground. Woolpert brought strong project management to the task and presented focused outcomes to government stakeholders when they met to discuss sportsplex options. After conducting three public meetings, the team presented a plan to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners for the $27 million multiuse sports complex.
The Woolpert team was involved in work from conception to completion of the sportsplex, including:
- Park master planning and public involvement
- Surveying
- Geotechnical subsurface exploration
- Natural resource investigation/wetland delineation and permitting
- Construction Permitting
- Bidding and construction administration
To ensure the continued economic viability of the massive project, Woolpert partnered with the local community—making sure the project would complement the town’s entertainment district and small-area multiuse plan.
The first phase of construction was completed in 2013, and the second phase began in 2015 with completion scheduled for fall 2016. Once complete, the complex will boast:
- A 2,700-seat championship/tournament stadium venue
- 12 lighted and irrigated sports fields
- 9 synthetic fields
- 2 grass fields
- 1 premier grass field
- Restroom buildings
- Shelters, trails and a playground
- A two-story fieldhouse (including offices, referee locker room, two team locker rooms, training room, catering space and a large meeting area with covered balconies)