Project Details
Title IX concerns for soccer started a BHSU Yellow Jacket Stadium Study of all outdoor sports activities. Black Hills State University (BHSU) had considered expanding the existing Lyle Hare Stadium to overlay a soccer field with the football field surrounded by a competition track. NCAA standards for soccer require a much wider field than football, so the track was redesigned to be a “broke back" track in order to work with the new width. This added width in turn pushed the footprint of the track well into adjoining St. Joe Street, which created a new set of costs involved with moving a major city street into a flood zone, FEMA concerns, relocating utilities, etc.
Additionally, Lyle Hare’s grandstands are roughly 50 years old and meet very few current code, accessibility, or NCAA sport guidelines.
Faced with the cost and down-time issues, Schemmer* administered a series of on-site design exploration charettes to explore alternatives and the pros and cons of over 13 different combinations of options. Through a process of elimination, the final solution to the University’s concerns emerged a new football and soccer stadium connected to their Donald E. Young Athletic Center. The BHSU Yellow Jacket Stadium Study determinted that the existing Lyle Hare Stadium will remain for track and field. The end result is two fields instead of one, for the same overall cost, a greater connection of outdoor sports to indoor sports and coaches, and greatly enhanced team facilities.
*project completed by MSH Architects prior to joining Schemmer
