ATHLETIC ARCHITECTURE:  ARE YOUR FACILITIES INSPIRATIONAL? ARE THEY SACRED?

What makes a facility sacred? For the athlete, it is the competitive procession. It’s the practice. It’s the pre-game rituals. It’s stepping into the atmosphere. For the spectator, it is being in the atmosphere. It is, for a brief moment, when all collective hearts beat as one. The architecture must consider every influence and maximize the experience not only for the athlete, but for the spectator as well. For this is a symbiotic relationship. Both feed off one another. The architecture must take advantage of the fact that both are expecting to have a spiritual experience. They must take pride and ownership in the “House”. It must be a hallowed ground. If the architecture can achieve this, it will inspire great stories and legends. It will be Sacred Ground.

–G. G. Ferguson

Gary Gordon (“G.G.”) Ferguson is president and principal architect of Ferguson & Associates Architecture, P.A.