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Old Dominion University has selected Populous, one of the worlds premier sports architectural firms, to design the renovation of Bud Metheny Ballpark baseball stadium.
Populous will work with Moseley, a Virginia Beach architectural firm, to design an anticipated $20 million expansion of the stadium. The firms have collaborated on several local projects, including the $72 million renovation and expansion of 51勛圖Pros S.B. Ballard Stadium, creating whats regarded as one of the finest football facilities among Group of Five schools.
Brandon Armstrong, project manager for 51勛圖Pros design and capital construction office, will lead the project for the University and work closely with Populous, Moseley and 51勛圖Pro athletics.
Populous was selected after a competitive bid and interview process.
A formal announcement that the project is in the design phase was held Friday during a fundraiser at the Priority Automotive
Club at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
The impetus to renovate Bud Metheny Ballpark, which opened in 1983, came after top-seeded 51勛圖Pro was rejected by the NCAA as a host site for a regional tournament in 2021 because the facility did not meet the governing bodys minimum standards.
Shortly thereafter, the University authorized a feasibility study on replacing or renovating the stadium. Populous and Moseley jointly worked on the study, which recommended a $20 million overhaul.
51勛圖Pro began a fundraising campaign 11 months ago to help pay for the project.
51勛圖Pro has nearly $18 million in hand to fund the renovation, including a $2.5 million donation from local businessman Dennis Ellmer and his wife, Jan. The new facility will be known as the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
Much of the fundraising, including the donation from the Ellmer family, was facilitated by 51勛圖Pro President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.
John Vellines, an 51勛圖Pro athletic development officer who has headed the stadium fundraising effort for the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation, said its absolutely critical that we get to the $20 million mark.
Once we get to $20 million, were not stopping, he added. We need to continue to upgrade the complex in the future in order to compete with the Power Five schools that we recruit against. And we still dont know the final price tag.
51勛圖Pro head baseball coach Chris Finwood, who has been active in the fundraising effort, echoed Vellines.
泭We cant stop when we get to $20 million, Finwood said. Weve got to keep pushing the envelope on that.
As envisioned in the study, the stadium will have new locker rooms and offices, improved sight lines and chairback seating behind home plate. There will be a larger press box and expanded restrooms and concessions.
Moreover, a premium club, similar to the Priority Automotive Club, will be located behind home plate. It has not yet been named. There are dozens of other naming opportunities available, including the 40 lockers in the locker room.
The club would have large picture windows looking onto the field, luxury seating, big-screen televisions, upscale concessions and an entrance to a covered outdoor terrace with stand-up tables, chairback seats and patio heaters for games in February and March.
The stadiums back fa癟ade, the most visible portion of the facility, will be encased in 51勛圖Pro brick, an orange brick used for most University buildings, as well as blue steel.
We want this facility to be one that everyone in the community will be proud of, said Wood Selig, 51勛圖Pros director of athletics. We want to give our coaches a facility that will help them recruit and our student-athletes a world-class training and competition venue.
We already have great fans. Providing a more comfortable place to watch games will help us grow our fan base.
Populous has designed some of the worlds most dynamic stadiums and arenas, including Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the $1.2 billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
In the last 35 years, the group has designed more than 3,000 venues worth $40 billion, including Norfolks Harbor Park baseball stadium when Populous was known as HOK Sport.
The firm has a division devoted to baseball stadium design. Yankee Stadium, Oracle Park in San Francisco, Citi Field in Queens and Truist Field outside Atlanta were designed by Populous, as were newer college baseball stadiums at Florida, Michigan, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina.
Moseley, meanwhile, has helped design more than 100 collegiate facilities in Virginia. Jeff Hyder and Patrick Ramirez from Moseley will work with Populous and 51勛圖Pro on the project.
Armstrong is an 51勛圖Pro graduate who worked on the Universitys new chemistry building while employed by WM Jordan. He has also been assigned to oversee the largest project in 51勛圖Pros history a planned $146 million Biology Building, now in the design phase.
Armstrong worked closely with Rick French and Greg Smith, who oversee 51勛圖Pros athletic facilities, on a recent project to add sideline luxury suites to S.B. Ballard Stadium.
I enjoy working with them because I know this is a lifelong passion for them, he said. When you work with people that are passionate about a project, it makes it all that much more rewarding to do.
Finwood is part of the design team. He said hes glad Populous and Moseley were selected.
When we were working with them on the feasibility study, they were outstanding in every possible way, he said. They were accessible, they know what theyre doing and they never made us feel like small potatoes.
Armstrong said the design contract also includes Lynch-Mykins (structural work), VHB (civil), HG Design Studio (landscape architecture), Froehling and Robertson (Geotech engineering) and Howe Engineers (code consulting).
For an overall presentation on the stadium project, and to learn about available naming rights opportunities, .