Kokomo Baseball Stadium

CONTEXT Design collaborated with American Structurepoint on this project, offering their expertise in identifying site opportunities and constraints, and site planning. Initially, the stadium will be used by local high school and college baseball teams, while efforts are also underway to attract larger tournaments and semi-professional teams. Eventually, the stadium will merge into one of the largest new developments in the downtown’s history and will make significant contributions to the economic resurgence of downtown Kokomo.

The design aesthetic was meant to have a modern take on a historic baseball stadium. The use of brick and steel reflected a material palette of adjacent warehouse buildings from the early 1900s. In order to improve the space for users, the stadium’s location was improved for the site flood mitigation, but the stadium space should be a premier location to visit and enjoy baseball (from high school to semi-pro league games). This project is also meant be an economic catalyst for the downtown and spur new commercial as well as residential development. Sustainability was implemented by using a synthetic turf due to the extreme use that is planned for this facility. This would reduce overall water usage as opposed to a traditional turf field. The team listened to the client so as to include the amenities that they requested and advised them of the potential costs. In the end, the City was able to review those opportunities and chose to include or value engineer.

The team implemented solutions to the schedule, costs, and design by using specific materials that could double as an aesthetic and structural treatment that would simplify construction methods and potentially shorten construction time. The coordination of multiple bid packages allowed items to be started in the field, while the balance of the documents were completed.