Sports, recreation and entertainment facilities captivate the imagination of the American public and play host to some of country’s most beloved pastimes, whether it’s your alma mater’s football team or your favorite musical. Some of those facilities become national landmarks — Madison Square Garden, the Kodak Theatre, the Grand Old Opry — thanks in no small part to their longevity. Keeping these venerable places in working order, however, means big business for the retrofit industry.
Project Profiles
BeforeAfterHouchens Industries L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, Ky.
TEAM: Owner: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky., www.wku.edu // Architect: Heery International, Atlanta, www.heery.com // Installer: South State Contractors, Bowling Green, Ky.,www.southstate.us // Contractor: Abel Construction, Louisville, Ky., www.abelconstruct.com // Metal Manufacturer: CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., www.centria.com (Formawall Dimension Series 2” Horizontal; Color: Silversmith; Finish: Embossed; Coating: Sundance Mica; Gage: 22/26 // Structural Standing Seam Roof SRS 3; Color: Slate Gray; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Fluorofinish; Gage: 22)
Houchens Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium is home to the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers football team. The team recently advanced to Division I of the NCAA, the highest level of competition. The subsequent move to the Sun Belt Conference prompted the university to expand its stadium to accommodate increased attendance. The $37.5 million renovation included increasing seating capacity to 25,000, with 5,000 of those seats located in the new West Grandstand. The grandstand also included new football offices, locker rooms, a training room and a 10,000-square-foot weight room. In addition, the project included 800 luxury seats, a $1.5 million video board, upgraded concourses and classroom space for the Physical Education Department.
Because Houchens Industries – L.T. Stadium required additions and renovations to an existing structure, a material with a wide variety of color and finish options was necessary. The stadium also required the special needs of seven module widths, six reveals and additional supports. As a retrofit, the updates to the stadium had to offer consistency across the original building and the additions. With its long continuous-length panels, a standing seam roof system was chosen to create a cohesive look between the new and old sections of the project. CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series was selected for the curtain wall systems and its Structural Standing Seam Roof System was chosen for the roof retrofit. (Photos courtesy of Centria)
BeforeAfterTarget Center, Minneapolis
TEAM: Owner: City of Minneapolis // Architect: LEO A. DALY Architects, Minneapolis, www.leodaly.com // Roofing Consultant: Inspec Inc., Minneapolis, www.inspec.com // Green Roof Designer: The Kestrel Design Group Inc., Minneapolis, www.kestreldesigngroup.com // Roofing Contractor: Stock Roofing Co. LLC, a TectaAmerica Company, Fridley, Minn., www.stockroofing.com // Manufacturers: Roofing and Waterproofing System: Sika Sarnafil, Canton, Mass., www.sikacorp.com (Sarnafil G476 waterproofing membrane, adhered EnergySmart Roof using 60 mil Sarnafil G410 membrane in white) // Pre-grown Mat: Sempergreen USA, Stevensburg, Va., www.sempergreen.com // Leak Detection System: International Leak Detection, Markham, Ontario, Canada, www.leak-detection.com // Growth Media: Skyland USA, Avondale, Pa., www.skylandusa.us (rooflite Extensive MC)
Renovations to the Target Center, home to the Minnesota Timberwolves, included replacement of 29 conventional roofs on five levels of the sports arena. Because the city wanted to address storm-water run-off in the downtown location, the decision was made to install a vegetated roof over the main arena structure.
The design of the vegetated portion of the roof required several considerations, including weight and a roofing membrane that could handle the effects of root growth, be resistant to bacteria, withstand constant dampness and handle varying hydrostatic pressures.
“When designing the new roof, we had to make sure that it did not weigh more than the previous ballasted EPDM roof and existing loading limits,” says Michelle Murray, senior project manager at Inspec Inc., roofing consultants on the design team. “A vegetated system over a lightweight waterproofing system met the challenge.”
The vegetated roof consists of three 2-inch-thick layers of polyiso board insulation fastened to the existing steel deck. Between the insulation and its cover board is an electric field vector mapping leak-detection system. About 113,000 square feet of reinforced PVC roofing membrane tops the leak-detection system. Pre-grown vegetation mats sit on a growing medium layer interspersed with irrigation tubing, which is supported by water retention, filter and drainage layers.
At 2 1/2 acres, the vegetated roof is the largest in Minnesota. It features a 2¾-inch-deep growing zone in the center of the main arena roof structure and a 3 1/2-inch-deep growing zone around the perimeter. The roof is designed to capture 0.9 inches of rain before runoff occurs. (Photos courtesy of Bergerson Photography)