Construction is rolling right along at the site of the KC Soccer Stadium, the future home of the Wizards. Each week, Turner Construction provides an update on accomplishments and progress of various parts of the project. Above, structural steel is already in place on each level of the stadium, which is actually ahead of schedule for its summer 2011 opening at the Village West retail devleopment adjacent to the Kansas Speedway. The 365, 000 sq. ft., 18,000-seat stadium will be a multi-use venue to accommodate Major League Soccer games and other field sports.
In addition, the stadium will host concerts for up to 27,000 people. An ascending spiral roof canopy will cover all seating. The stadium will also feature 34 suites and a bluegrass natural turf playing field that will include a SubAir heating and moisture management system. David Ficklin, vice president of development for OnGoal, ownership group of the Wizards, earlier this month gave a tour of the site. Ficklin said he’s especially excited about the roof covering that will retain crowd noise and provide the Wizards with a decided home-field advantage. It will also protect fans from the elements.
“It’s not just a building,” he said. “It embodies the culture, the emotion, the architecture, the ambitions of a city, of a club, of a fan base .”
But will the new stadium (above, a side view of piers and recent grading) help Kansas City’s chances as some type of venue for the World Cup if the United States is chosen as the host for either 2018 or 2022? Ficklin said the stadium will definitely help, and that it is one of the proposed base camps for our World Cup bid, meaning a country would come a few weeks beforehand and live and train at the new Wizards Stadium.
CREW members swing into happy hour with a little putt putting
Three KC CREW member offices in the Crossroads District held a putt putt happy hour recently for members: Treanor Architects, encompas, and Rosemann & Associates. SHHHH! Expert putter at work! Above, Leonard Booth with Harley Davidson Motor Company.
Greeting guests as they arrived to the encompas office at 1512 Grand were Bonnie Limbird with encompas and Lindsay Moore with 360 Architects.
The reception was held at Rosemann & Associates, 1526 Grand. From left are Jennifer Gach – Zimmer Real Estate Services, Scott Rosemann – Rosemann & Associates, Liz Flowers and Emily Ostertag – both with Rosemann & Associates.