Georgia Tech McCamish Pavilion Coliseum Expansion

 

Project Type

Coliseum Seating Expansion

Location

Atlanta, Georgia, US

Date

2012

Team

Populous
KSi
Whiting Turner
Steel LLC

In this challenging coliseum expansion project, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association wanted to improve the overall fan experience in the McCamish Pavilion while also keeping the recognisable Schwedler dome in place. To accommodate additional seating, the design needed to incorporate seating into the historic rafters.

Traditional solutions – precast concrete and folded steel plate – were too heavy and required too much secondary stiffening, respectively. SPS Technology’s structural composite terrace product solved the problem.

The most economical way to improve sight lines was to build the upper deck seating bowl using SPS to enable the use of a lighter structural frame and maximising the distance the first row of seats could be cantilevered. Sandwich Plate System is up to 80% lighter than conventional concrete solutions.

The upper bowl seating has a complex geometry but through the use of collaborative 3D BIM modelling, SPS Technology fabricated and installed the SPS components easily to exact specification.

The owners made a more sustainable choice by keeping the historic dome. Less demolition means less embodied carbon is lost. SPS Technology has gone on to gain considerably more experience with reprofiling, overdecking and other techniques that allow owners and designers more latitude when considering demolition versus new build.

Structural engineer KSi was an award winner for McCamish Pavilion in the 2013 NCSEA Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering awards program.

Georgia Tech as an institution embraces innovation. The use of SPS on the McCamish Pavilion renovation confirms our commitment to utilizing new and proven construction technologies. We are very pleased with SPS and recommend it highly to those considering projects similar to ours.

Paul S. GriffinFormer Director of Athletics, Georgia Tech

Trust in the longevity of SPS Technology

SPS Technology has recently revisited the McCamish Pavilion [Sept 2021] and was pleased to see how well the SPS upper bowl installation has lasted through heavy use. Unlike the existing concrete stands, there was no staining of the SPS system and only minor repairs were required. We will be updating this project entry soon to show what the SPS Stadia + Arenas System looks like 10 years later.