Barnhart Balfour Beatty provided general contracting services for this $9 million state-of-the-art athletic training facility for the City of San Diego and the San Diego Chargers football team. This 73,000 SF facility was built as part of a $78-million Qualcomm Stadium Expansion and renovation project, which was approved by the city in 1997.
The training facility features two grass football fields, one 60-yard artificial-turf field, a 25-meter swimming pool, a 4,400 SF weight room, several treatment tables designed to support at least 300 lbs each, huge hot and cold whirlpools, and a hydrotherapy pool in which a rehabilitating player can swim against a controllable current. It also includes a 100-seat team meeting room, which is equipped to handle major media briefings. There are various offices and small meeting rooms for players and coaches to review their performance or review their opponents’ moves as well.
Over the years, Barnhart Balfour Beatty has been contracted by the City of San Diego and the San Diego Chargers to provide professional construction services to upgrade various components of the facility. For example, in 2002 Barnhart remolded their administration offices and in 2004, Barnhart made upgrades to their locker rooms.
Energy Efficient Building
The Charger’s training facility was designed ahead of its time. Before going “Green” became the world’s design and construction guide to build, the Charger’s training facility was already saving thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide in power plant emissions each year. The lead Architect worked with the Charger’s Organization, the City of San Diego, and the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) company to design a facility that would operate at a lower cost and in return, would take advantage of SDG&E’s Savings Through Design Programs, which provides cost incentives to help fund upfront costs.
The building incorporates occupancy sensors and high efficiency lighting, including 32-watt T8 lamps, electronic ballasts, 13- and 26-watt compact fluorescents, and lights emitting diode (LED) exit signs. The lighting measures are saving 136,680 kilowatt-hours, or approximately $11,618.00, each year. These energy savings also represent an environmental benefit – an avoidance of approximately 275 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 140 pounds of sulfur oxides and 147,262 of carbon dioxide in power plant emissions each year. SDG&E awarded $17,500 in Savings Through Design for the incorporation of these electrical equipments.
In addition to the occupancy sensors and high efficiency lighting, the 162-room building includes insulated reflecting glass for all windows, overhangs to shade windows on both the east and west elevations, and skylights in the main lobby to help bring natural light into the building, thus reducing the use of energy.
| CLIENT: | San Diego Chargers/ City of San Diego |
| ARCHITECT: | Robbins-Jorgensen-Christopher Architects |
| PROJECT SIZE: | 73,000 SF |
| CONSTRUCTION COST: |
$9.1 Million |