When the Rockford Park District in Rockford, Ill., opened its Indoor Sports Center on Mercyhealth Sportscore Two campus in May 2017, it became one of the largest sports facilities of its kind in the state. It was also the last in a series of projects for Reclaiming First—a community-wide initiative created to enhance and enlarge the region’s amateur sports facilities and reclaim dominance in sports tourism. The expansion, located on the park district’s Mercyhealth Sportscore Two campus, is a 125,000- square-foot building, with a 94-foot ceiling, and can accommodate up to six soccer games or two softball games simultaneously. The entire complex, including the new building, the existing remodeled building, and a connecting corridor, is 193,000 square feet, and is used for soccer, softball, baseball, lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, and rugby tournaments. More than 1.4-million spectators and athletes use the facilities each year.
Cost Analysis New construction and renovation for the Indoor Sports Center began in March 2016. The key to the project’s success was an overall team approach. The park district did its due diligence early on and brought in key players who provided in-depth analysis on the best strategy to follow to ensure the proposed structure would be sustainable within the park district’s annual budget, including utility and maintenance costs. Upfront analysis of costs and benefits determined the following:
1. Install radiant heat. The park district enlisted the help of the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC)—free assistance provided to the public sector by the state. SEDAC provided key recommendations on designing a building with energy efficiency. As the architects, our firm, Larson & Darby Group, worked with both SEDAC and the park district to implement SEDAC’s recommendations, and in some cases, enhance them. For example, SEDAC’s analysis concluded that installing radiant heat below the entire surface of the indoor field would be the most efficient heating option. We agreed with radiant heat, but realized it made more sense to put it around the perimeter of the building—mainly where spectators would be. The athletes running up and down the field would generate their own heat! The theory was that the radiant heat would rise to the ceiling and be distributed by bullet fans. Heating a building of this size can be an extreme burden, and installing radiant heat where only spectators will be saved the district at least 27 percent in energy bills. Additionally, comfort will improve by 100 percent because there should be no drafts or cold spots.