The New Century Fieldhouse, located in New Century, Kansas and designed by DLR Group, is the epitome of adaptive reuse.
The interior of this abandoned warehouse was only 80 percent finished,
site work was not complete and the facility had never been occupied. Fortunately, the Johnson County Park & Recreation District had a vision of transforming the building into a lively sports hub for this Kansas City metro community.
The Fieldhouse now serves a variety of audiences and indoor sporting needs. One side of the facility features eight courts for volleyball, as well as four courts each for basketball and futsal, a five-man indoor soccer game. All courts feature a Taraflex resilient surface to boost the playability for athletes. A turf field for soccer, football, lacrosse and other field sports makes up the rest of the athletic space. Rubber for the artificial turf infill is coated and colored to reduce odor, improve appearance and enhance performance for athletes.
The LEED Gold facility also incorporates a number of water-saving features, such as automatic sensors and waterless urinals, helping it to use only 60 percent of the water used in a comparable building. High-performance fluorescent lights and an efficient yet simply operated lighting control system allow the New Century Fieldhouse to surpass a baseline facility following the ASHRAE 90.1-2009 methodology by more than 28 percent.
More than 75 percent of the existing walls, floors, and roof were reused, reducing the energy required for new construction. In addition, more than 2,158 tons of construction waste and demolition debris was diverted from landfills and redirected to be recycled or salvaged.
