West Point is an active military installation, but the challenges for Michie Stadium’s East Stand didn’t stop there. Over three stories high and holding more than 300 people, military criteria classifies the building as Risk Category III and necessitated a progressive-collapse design.  To make matters harder, Army kept playing home games throughout construction, squeezing an already cramped site, leaving crews even less room to work and stage materials.

The SPS Stadia + Arena System is integral to the entirely new East Stand at Michie Stadium utilizing 42,300 ft² [3930 m²] of blast-resistant SPS stadia decking.

The specific advantages prefabricated SPS brought to the project include:

• Fewer deliveries to site
• Lighter lifting equipment
• Less staging room required
• Smaller frames and foundations
• Installation up to 50% faster than traditional materials

Uniquely, Sandwich Plate System withstands extreme loads and absorbs impact energy without cracking, spalling, or rupturing.

SPS structural composite panels outperform conventional steel and concrete in most structures. Their high capacity-to-weight ratio lets them absorb impact and blast loads efficiently, and they spread those loads across a wider area. The core also dissipates extra energy as it deforms plastically and eventually fails. This advantage holds even for concentrated loads such as ballistic strikes.

As a result, SPS protects against falling objects, vehicle impacts, gas and underwater explosions, blasts, extreme oil and gas fires, as well as seismic events. And we’ve been proving it for decades.