From design to completion: Stony Brook University’s new training facility benefits athletes, visitors and community members

{Sponsored} At first glance, Stony Brook University’s new indoor practice facilities are nothing out of the ordinary. The 80-yard practice field with netting allows the football, lacrosse and soccer teams at the university in Long Island, New York, to practice out of the elements. A support building with restroom facilities, an athletic training room and a lobby to the practice space is connected to the practice facility.

This spring, the baseball and softball teams will be able to start practices inside instead of in the early spring chill that the eastern seaboard experiences.

However, Stony Brook’s new facility is unique in that it’s not brick and mortar or steel clad — it is a tension fabric building supported by steel beams, yet still equipped with HVAC and every other amenity a facility with traditional building materials would have.

Stony Brook spent time discussing options they had with an architect, and it became apparent that a tension fabric building would best suit their needs, especially given the time crunch Stony Brook was experiencing.

Tension fabric buildings are unique; they can more efficiently regulate temperature, reducing the costs to heat or cool the buildings. The interior liner creates a unique environment providing a superior lighting surface. Additionally, the liner creates better acoustics allowing coaches to be able to speak with their athletes without straining their voices. Plus, it is designed to last longer than a steel roof in a corrosive environment.

The fully customizable buildings are designed to meet the local building and energy codes. The fabric is also flame retardant.

Just a year prior to completion, Stony Brook’s director of athletics, Shawn Heilbron, said his department chose to work with Legacy Building Solutions, a company that specializes in tension fabric buildings, due to the lower cost, exceptional speed of building and the strict timeline that Stony Brook was under to complete the project.

“We got not only a very high-quality building but one that would be completed in an expedient manner. Got everything we wanted and excited to move forward,” Heilbron said. “It’s a cost-effective way to deliver an extremely durable product.

The next plan Heilbron has for the facility is to use it to create revenue streams and bring the community onto campus. They plan to rent the space to outside groups in the future and have already had many inquiries from other teams and groups about renting the new facilities.

In addition to renting the facility in order to drive revenue, the space will also be able to support the community, inviting them to campus to experience what Stony Brook Athletics can do for Long Island. Plus, Heilbron hopes to have other Stony Brook sports utilize the space in the future.

“We’ve looked at other facilities Legacy (built) and it made so much sense. Tension fabric buildings are as durable as brick building or any other type of material. Legacy had the ability to deliver exactly what we needed,” Heilbron said. “It’s proven to be a great partnership.”

To learn more about Legacy Building Solutions and their tension fabric buildings, visit www.legacybuildingsolutions.com or call 877-259-1528.

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