Athletics

With over 1,300 athletic facility and stadium projects to our credit, SKA delivers large-scale new construction and small renovation projects with ease. Whether you require a new indoor facility, large outdoor stadium, or minor repairs, our technical engineers have the depth of experience in sports and recreation facilities to make your project a success.

Owners and architects bring SKA in as the engineering consultant on athletic and recreation projects — the structure, enclosure, mechanical systems, and lighting that determine whether a facility performs for the people using it.

Stadiums, Grandstands, and Seating Structures

Grandstand structures carry crowd loads that are dynamic rather than static. Synchronized movement by spectators can excite a structure’s natural frequency, which means vibration and comfort criteria sit alongside strength in the design — a stand that is perfectly safe can still feel wrong to the people in it. Cantilevered canopies, long spans, and full wind exposure add their own demands.

  • Structural design of grandstands, bowls, and seating decks
  • Vibration and serviceability analysis for spectator loading
  • Cantilevered canopy and press box structures
  • Field lighting and scoreboard support structures

Indoor Facilities and Field Houses

Indoor practice facilities, arenas, and natatoriums are large clear-span structures with demanding ventilation and lighting requirements. The structural system has to span without intermediate support, and the enclosure has to handle high internal volumes along with the moisture loads that come with athletic use — a detail that gets overlooked until condensation starts showing up on the underside of the roof deck.

  • Long-span structural systems over courts, fields, and pools
  • Enclosure design for high-volume, high-humidity interiors
  • Ventilation and dehumidification for indoor athletic use
  • Natatorium enclosure and corrosion considerations

Mechanical, Electrical, and Sports Lighting

Sports lighting has to meet illumination levels appropriate to the level of play, control glare for both participants and spectators, limit spill onto neighboring property, and support broadcast where that applies. SKA provides mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering for athletic facilities in-house, which keeps the lighting design answerable to the same team handling power distribution and ventilation.

Renovation, Expansion, and Repair

Much of our athletics work is on facilities already in service. Evaluation establishes the capacity of the existing structure, documents deterioration — particularly corrosion in exposed concrete and steel — and determines how much additional load the structure can actually accept before an expansion is committed to.

Outdoor athletic structures corrode. Constant weather exposure, and de-icing chemicals where they are used, drive corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete seating and structural members. SKA performs corrosion testing and designs repairs and protective systems to extend service life, and we provide third-party peer review of another engineer’s design where an owner wants a second set of eyes before construction.

Where We Work

SKA engineers athletic and recreation facilities throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, working from offices in Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh–Durham, and Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Charlottesville, Virginia. Our athletics portfolio includes NC State University’s Doak Stadium, UNC Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson Football Stadium, UNC Greensboro Soccer Stadium, the WFU McCreary Indoor Football Practice Center, Nissan Stadium, and peer review of the Liberty University basketball arena.

High-performing athletes require high-performing facilities — for the athletes, the coaches, and the spectators who fill the seats.

AAMP
ASCE Civil Engineering
Green Builders Council
Testing Services

FEATURED PROJECTS

Frequently Asked Questions
What engineering services do athletic facilities require?

Athletic facilities need long-span structures over courts and fields, seating structures designed for crowd loads and vibration, high-capacity ventilation, and sports lighting design. SKA Consulting Engineers has completed over 1,300 athletic facility and stadium projects, from indoor facilities to large outdoor stadiums.

What does a sports facility consultant do?

Consulting scope on an athletic project usually splits in two. Programming and feasibility firms study demand, seating counts, and revenue; the engineering consultant is responsible for the structure, enclosure, mechanical systems, and lighting that make the facility work. SKA serves as the engineering consultant on athletic and recreation projects, covering long-span structural design, grandstand and seating structures, ventilation, sports lighting, and the assessment or repair of existing facilities.

What structural issues are specific to stadiums?

Grandstand structures carry crowd loads that are dynamic rather than static — synchronized movement by spectators can excite a structure's natural frequency, so vibration and comfort criteria matter alongside strength. Cantilevered canopies, large spans, and significant wind exposure add further demands.

How is a field house or indoor practice facility engineered?

These are large clear-span structures with demanding ventilation and lighting requirements. Structural systems must span without intermediate support, and enclosure design has to handle high internal volumes and the moisture loads that come with athletic use.

What is involved in sports lighting design?

Sports lighting must meet illumination levels appropriate to the level of play, control glare for participants and spectators, limit light spill onto neighboring properties, and support broadcast where relevant. SKA provides electrical engineering including lighting design for athletic facilities.

How are existing stadiums evaluated for renovation or expansion?

Evaluation establishes the capacity of existing structure, documents deterioration — particularly corrosion in exposed concrete and steel — and determines what additional load the structure can accept. SKA's structural repair and corrosion testing capabilities support this assessment directly.

Do outdoor athletic structures face corrosion problems?

Yes. Constant weather exposure, and de-icing chemicals where applicable, drive corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete seating and structural members. SKA performs corrosion testing and designs repairs and protective systems to extend service life.