Officials at Brown University, an Ivy League school in Providence, R.I., have approved proceeding with choosing an architect to design a new indoor practice facility to replace an existing outdoor field on campus.

It marks the first step in planning for a Brown Athletics resource that will help student-athletes compete at the highest level. The facility also would enable coaches to optimize training for teams, and engage more campus community members in club sports, intramural activities and wellness initiatives.

Architect selection for the athletics project is expected to take three months, Brown noted in a news release, kicking off a process toward planning, designing and building the facility, pending additional approvals.

"Our strategic plan started with foundational beliefs that all students should have access to wellness programs, which is important not just for physical well-being, but for mental and emotional well-being," explained Brown's Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Grace Calhoun. "An indoor field house will transform the types of programs we can offer and the quality of the everyday experience for students — everyone from the casual weekly visitor to the most competitive varsity student-athlete who wants to compete for a national championship."

Brown's current Meister-Kavan Field, an outdoor practice field for varsity teams, is envisioned as the proposed site for the 76,000-sq.-ft. indoor facility. The site is located within the university's athletic complex directly behind the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center.

The new structure would replace the outdoor practice field with a 52,000-sq.-ft. indoor turf playing surface, in addition to an entry lobby, restrooms, and space for equipment storage.

Facility Will Allow Athletes to Practice in Warm Conditions

The proposed new building will address a critical infrastructure need for Brown Athletics: a lack of indoor training space for field sports.

Given weather conditions in New England, Brown's baseball, field hockey, football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer and softball teams have insufficient time for outdoor training from November through April. This puts its teams at a competitive disadvantage compared with schools in different climates or with indoor practice facilities. An indoor field house would provide a controlled environment for year-round training, regardless of weather, according to Brown officials.

The new practice facility also would allow Brown to expand intramural sports programs and grow undergraduate participation in recreation, creating a new space for 365-day wellness activities ranging from soccer and kickball to flag football, ultimate frisbee and group fitness classes. Brown Athletics administrators noted that there is a high demand for physical fitness activities, and new intramural programs made possible by an indoor facility could more than double the number of student participants to 2,500.

Project planners believe that by moving current sports activities from Meister-Kavan Field to an indoor facility, noise and other impacts to nearby residential neighborhoods would be mitigated. In addition, because the building will not be a spectator venue, Brown leaders anticipate no increase in traffic or parking congestion.

Pending additional approvals, construction for the university's indoor practice facility is targeted to begin in the summer of 2024 and last approximately 18 months.

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