University Athletic Association – Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Renovation
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The $15 million UAA Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Renovation at the University of Florida consisted of demolishing the existing press box and locker rooms and constructing an Elevated Press Box and 3-Story Operations Building adjacent to left field. The new Operations Building consists of locker rooms, coaches’ offices, conference room, public restrooms, concession stand and more. The lower level of the Operations Building is integral with the home dugout, allowing players and coaches to enter the locker room directly from the dugout. Additional improvements included a covered bullpen behind left field, nearly doubling the seating capacity at 2,500 seats, shade structures over the seating, and elevated camera platforms on the 1st and 3rd base sides as well as behind center-field.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
The structural design of this project consisted of two separate buildings, a Pre-Engineered Metal Building (PEMB) foundation design, and steel camera platforms.
Elevated Press Box:
The Elevated Press Box consists of structural steel framing, composite floor deck, and cold-formed steel exterior walls, all supported on concrete shallow foundations. The roof framing system consisted of metal deck over cold-formed steel trusses. The lateral load resisting system is comprised of steel moment frames and masonry shear walls around the elevator shaft.
Operations Building:
The Operations Building consists of structural steel framing, composite floor deck, cold-formed steel exterior walls, and cast-in-place retaining walls, all supported on concrete shallow foundations. The roof framing system consisted of metal deck over cold-formed steel trusses. The lateral load resisting system is comprised of steel moment frames and masonry shear walls.
UNIQUE CHALLENGES
At the onset of this project it was clear the design schedule would be the most challenging part of this project. There was a limited window during the softball off season to have this project designed and constructed. SEG provided an Early Release Package (ERP) for foundations and steel for this project. Once the ERP was submitted for this project, SEG worked closely with the design team and contractor to refine the design to keep the project within budget and to ensure procurement of materials and fabrication would not affect the schedule. Additionally, SEG was involved in shop drawing charrettes and designed our own steel connections to allow quick turnaround so fabrication could begin.
One unique challenge with the Operations Building was the concourse level framing. Due to limited floor to floor height, the concourse level framing had to be shallow. To allow for the requested ceiling heights, several large penetrations were designed in select steel beams for mechanical ducts and piping.