Modern, fabric-building engineering fits every need for sports and recreation centers
By Shannon Humbert
When planning to build new sports and recreation facilities, communities and private entities alike always have to navigate a delicate balance. The ultimate goal is to provide ample indoor activity space to meet the needs of a city or organization, but obviously, this has to be accomplished within a provided budget.
In situations where brick-and-mortar buildings have proved cost-prohibitive, some municipalities and schools occasionally turn to alternatives like air-supported bubbles or fabric “hoop” structures. Most users have some concerns and doubts when it comes to these options, knowing they won’t solve the problem permanently.
More than a decade ago, a new solution came about for parks and recreation departments, colleges, and clubs in need of sports facilities: the marriage of a tension-fabric membrane with a structural steel, I-beam frame. By bringing together the best aspects of conventional construction with cost-effective fabric cladding, these facilities suddenly became an ideal, permanent-project fit. And manufacturers offering such buildings have continued to innovate and improve them ever since.
“I believe that institutions should reconsider conventional norms and delve into thorough research to understand the exceptional benefits that tension-fabric buildings can offer,” says Matt Hanlin, president and CEO of Impact Activities, which spearheaded The Courts of McKinney tennis-courts facility in McKinney, Texas, among other projects. “I witnessed firsthand that they could provide us with everything, if not more, than a standard brick-and-mortar building.”