Green Turns to Gold: Ithaca College’s Athletics & Events Center

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A few years ago, Ithaca College opened its newest - and largest - building, the 177,000-square-foot Athletics and Events Center.

Two years in construction and decades in the imagining, the facility offers student-athletes an unparalleled athletic experience and the campus and greater Ithaca communities an expansive, modern space for events of all kinds. Designed by the architectural firm Moody-Nolan, the $65.5 million project features a field house and aquatics pavilion in the main building, which also houses athletic training and strength training facilities, a “wet” classroom for athletic and academic programs, a hall of fame display, a press box, athletics offices, team rooms and locker rooms. An adjacent outdoor stadium with lighted turf field and an outdoor tennis facility round out the complex.

In his remarks at the opening celebration, Ithaca College president Tom Rochon noted the distinctiveness of the new center. “We gather to celebrate one of the most daring and ambitious accomplishments our campus has ever seen: the creation of an athletics and events complex that will do nothing less than restructure the physical face of our institution, and the caliber of educational experiences that our students will find here,” said Rochon.

The center also offers innovative opportunities to form active-learning partnerships with Ithaca College’s academic programs, such as athletic training, therapeutic recreation, physical therapy, recreation management, sport media and broadcasting. The A&E Center is used by nearly all of Ithaca’s intercollegiate teams – which are comprised of more than 700 student-athletes – and countless other students through intramural, club and recreational sport use. The facility has hosted conference championships in swimming and diving, track and field and tennis; the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and New York State YMCA swimming and diving championships; and numerous regional high school meets.

The building’s seating and floor space are also used for campus and community events that draw large audiences, which have included the New York State Association of College Admissions Counselors Conference; F&T Distributing trade show; Ithaca College’s Commencement Eve Concert, opening Convocation ceremony and prospective student open houses; a regional college fair; and Ithaca High School graduation ceremonies.

Environmental Stewardship, Fiscal Accountability, and Community Responsibility

In keeping with Ithaca College’s commitment to environmental stewardship, fiscal accountability and community responsibility, the A&E Center was sustainably designed and incorporates elements that maximize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact, both in its construction and throughout its operational lifetime. The campus is already home to two recently constructed LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum buildings, and the center was designed to meet at least LEED silver standards.

The building’s signature tower is more than just an architectural feature – it functions to provide natural cooling and ventilation to the large space. Additional sustainable aspects include strategically placed windows for natural lighting, a reflective roof to minimize cooling requirements, an exhaust system with energy recovery, environmentally friendly refrigerant and low-emitting materials to ensure indoor air quality. Many of the building materials used in construction were native to the region.

LEED Gold for Ithaca’s A&E Center

Just last year, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED Gold to the Ithaca College Athletics & Events Center. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

The Athletics & Events Center provides both the campus and wider communities with a state-of-the-art facility in which to gather, learn, train and compete. The complex features a field house and aquatics pavilion in the main building, which also houses athletic training and strength training facilities, a “wet” classroom for athletic and academic programs, a hall of fame display, a press box, athletics offices, team rooms and locker rooms. An adjacent outdoor stadium with lighted turf field and an outdoor tennis facility round out the center.

“This recognition is surprising only in that it exceeds our hopes and expectations for the A&E Center,” said Ithaca College President Tom Rochon. “We have made a commitment that all new construction as well as renovations to existing buildings must at least meet the LEED Silver standards. Credit goes to the designers and builders as well as to those who staff and operate the building on a day-today basis for helping to ensure that our promise of a sustainable campus is met.”

Gold is the second-highest LEED rating. In 2011, Ithaca College became the second academic institution in the world to have two newly constructed buildings on its campus with the highest rating – LEED Platinum – when the Peggy Ryan Williams Center joined the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise in earning that designation. The Classroom Link corridor, which connects those buildings with one another and with others on campus, has also achieved LEED Gold.

The LEED system awards points according to a strict set of criteria that fall within a half-dozen categories. The A&E Center was recognized with LEED Gold for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The environmentally beneficial features of the field house include a ventilation system that’s built around the signature tower that is the facility’s most visible aspect. The tower has louvers on its prevailing wind side; the narrow slits allow cool air into the building, while the warmer air inside the building rises to the level of the tower’s higher louvers and is pushed out.

The swimming pool also demonstrates the college’s commitment to sustainability: over one million gallons of water are saved annually through the innovative filtration system, and the space uses cooled air to reduce moisture as a more efficient method of dehumidification. Additional sustainable aspects include strategically placed windows for natural lighting, a reflective roof to minimize cooling requirements, an exhaust system with energy recovery and low-emitting materials to ensure indoor air quality. Many of the building materials used in construction are native to the region.

The building was named the winner of an Innovative Architecture & Design Award in 2012 from Recreation Management magazine. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the A&E Center is in rare company as one of only six LEED Gold athletics facilities on a college campus in the country. It is the third largest in terms of overall square footage, and one of only two such complexes to include a swimming/diving pavilion.

“With the achievement of LEED Gold for its Athletics & Events Center, Ithaca College can truly boast of providing an exceptional campus and community resource for education, entertainment and sporting events,” said Tracie Hall, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter. “We commend the trustees and administration of the college for their vision and the project team for creating this impressive facility that incorporates so many essential energy and water conservation measures.”

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About the Author
Megan Christopher is the Communications and Media Relations Specialist in the Office of Marketing Communications at Ithaca College. In this role, Megan contributes to media relations, crisis communications, strategic communications and advertising efforts.