University of Connecticut Athletic District City of Storrs, CT

Project Description:

UConn envisioned a new athletic destination in the west district of the university’s existing Storrs campus that could serve as home for its soccer, baseball and softball teams, as well as a powerful recruiting tool focused on the experience of student-athletes and fans.

The location at the edge of campus offered many challenges and opportunities for the design team. One primary challenge was the need to design four new fields and a performance center on the site of existing soccer, baseball and softball venues. Early in the design phase, 16 different site permutations were studied and analyzed for solar orientation, traffic/circulation flow and geological exploration of large below-grade granite deposits. Existing infrastructure was also adjusted and incorporated into the new design, reestablishing the connection to the campus at large, while avoiding disturbance to well-established pathways and wayfinding. The site plan, once realized, offered equity and opportunity for each gendered sport to achieve greatness.

The Husky Athletic Village incorporates Elliot Ballpark, home of UConn baseball; Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, home of UConn soccer and lacrosse; and Burrill Family Field, home of UConn softball, as well as a shared practice field and the state-of the-art Rizza Performance Center. Embedded in a beautiful native forest with steep topography, the design for Husky Athletic Village embraces the rugged beauty of the site to create sports venues that are stunning and picturesque. This plays into UConn’s culture of high fan engagement and attendance, with the site becoming an advantage to the home teams in and of itself.