An air-supported structure, also known as a sports dome or a bubble, is a truly unique building system that has been adopted by many of the nation’s top athletic programs. Not only are domes ideal for a huge variety of sports (including football, soccer and other field sports, along with tennis, golf and swimming), they also function as a powerful recruitment and revenue-generating tool. At an average cost of just $25-30 per square foot (including ALL associated construction, planning and permit costs) domes are simply a no brainer to any institution looking to upgrade their sports programs without breaking the bank.
Let’s look at three of the colleges who’ve done just that: Princeton University, Seneca College and Thiel College.
Cultivating athletic excellence doesn’t only require elite coaching ‒ it requires a safe, productive and comfortable training environment. And no matter how you slice it, losing 5 months of practice to cold weather each year puts players at a harsh disadvantage. Any institution that can offer an ideal training environment year-round instantly gains an incredible edge over the competition. Domes are the fastest, most cost-effective way to create a full-size indoor environment that is optimally built for sports.
No more slipping and sliding on slick grass, or shivering through practice. Your players will have the environment to perform at their best all year round.
Powers Field Bubble
Dimensions: 360’ x 200’ x 60’
Year Installed: 2017
Location: Princeton, NJ
At Princeton, player development has always been the primary off-season focus. But until 2017, the Tigers had to abandon Powers Field for the gym from October through March, losing months of irreplaceable field time.
The addition of a full-field bubble over Princeton Stadium in 2017 has had a huge impact on the entire athletics department. Athletes from various varsity teams utilize the dome to enhance their speed, agility and conditioning throughout winter – taking their performance to an even higher level.
The dome is also used by numerous campus recreation programs, intramural and club teams, outside groups and youth groups.
“It’s a game-changer for so many of our programs. It’s a safe and productive environment for our teams to train.” Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Athletics Director
More than ever, incoming students are keenly interested in investing their time and energy in their overall health and wellness. Recreational facilities are the first thing prospective students want to see on campus tours.
It’s no surprise that the push to expand these types of facilities often come directly from students themselves – who gladly vote to bump up their fees to pay for them!
Not only does a dome create greater capacity to offer sports and recreation services, but it’s a striking and highly visible show of the school’s commitment to recreation.
Seneca Stingdome
Dimensions: 315’ x 250’ x 75’
Year installed: 2017
Location: North York, ON
Since its inception in 1966, Seneca College has flourished and grown to become one of Canada’s largest colleges. But with the number of students graduating from Ontario high schools on the decline, Seneca knew it needed to step up its game to recruit the best and brightest.
At the same time, their championship men’s and women’s soccer teams were in dire need of a safer place to continue their training throughout the harsh winter months. Despite ranking as one of the most decorated athletic programs in the history of the OCAA, the Seneca Sting had to play and practice elsewhere off-campus.
In 2017, Seneca College became the first college in the Greater Toronto Area to have a state-of-the-art sports dome on campus. Nicknamed the Stingdome, the bubble includes a multi-purpose artificial turf that’s opened doors for everything from indoor soccer to ultimate Frisbee to mini-putt – a boost to the entire student body.
“We understand how important it is that people have access to a great recreational facility like this.” Linda Stapleton, Head of Sport & Recreation
While the value of higher education continues to increase, the funding behind it hasn’t kept pace. Nationwide, money from state and provincial governments is becoming a smaller and smaller fraction of college and university budgets – while private institutions are competing for an ever-shrinking pool of prospective students.
That’s one of the reasons why more and more institutions are racing to improve their campus appeal with a multi-functional dome.
Have extra capacity? A dome can be rented to community sports leagues and other local groups. Mixed-use domes can also be rented out for concerts, movie screenings, fundraisers, parties, home and garden shows, dog agility competitions, community sales and more.
Domes also open the door to hosting more sports tournaments, creating more revenue opportunities for your institution and the surrounding community.
Rissel-Schreyer Dome
Dimensions: 388’ x 223’ x 67’
Year Installed: 2010
Location: Greenville, PA
Thiel College is an independent liberal arts college with a proud, 150-year history. Though modest in size, the college has built a well-rounded athletics program that competes in Division III lacrosse, soccer and more.
The Thiel Tomcats’ home turf in Greenville, Pennsylvania gets snowed out five months a year, cutting deep into the teams’ field time. But it didn’t make sense to build a brick-and-mortar training facility for the college’s 900 undergraduates. Instead, the college opted to cover Stoeber Field with a sports dome from November to March.
With room to spare, the Rissel-Schreyer Dome has become a lucrative rental space for the Greenville community when the Tomcats aren’t using it. Today, the dome is used by a wide variety of groups and organizations from across the city. Not only has this strengthened and enriched Thiel College’s connection with the greater community, but it’s become a hands-off, continuous source of revenue that helps them grow. It also allows Thiel to competitively attract and recruit a larger variety of undergrads – showing young athletes the impressive training bubbles versatility and it’s direct impact to their health and wellness while attending college.
“I have said both privately and publicly that the dome at Thiel and partnership with Farley was one of those decisions we would do again 10 times out of 10.” Troy D. Vanaken, Ph.D, President
Since its inception in 1970, The Farley Group have been industry leaders with a hand in over 900 air-supported structures around the world.
We published this guide to help you understand the many ways a sports dome can benefit student athletes and non-athletes alike.
To learn more about what it takes to build a dome on your college or university campus, feel free to call us at 1-888-445-3223 or contact us at info@thefarleygroup.com.
