Since becoming a member of the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023, the University of Houston has set out to upgrade its football facilities. This included a new state-of-the-art Football Operations Center and scoreboard. This project plays a vital role in enhancing the football program and putting UH on the national stage.
Project Details
The $130 million project broke ground in November 2023 and is expected to be completed by August 2025. The 105,000-square-foot operations center includes premier training facilities, new locker rooms, academic areas for student-athletes, and offices for coaches and staff. It also showcases a two-story lobby and a 20,000-square-foot weight room. The new scoreboard is three times larger than the previous one and is equipped with full 24-bit True Color and 10mm resolution. The new video board is 45 feet tall and 160 feet wide, with a total of 7,200 square feet.
The Myrex team played a pivotal role in the construction and execution of the new UH Football Operations & Scoreboard by providing a total of 1,513 tons of steel for this project, with the scoreboard being 274 tons of that alone.
Steel’s Role in Modern Sports Facilities
Steel is the perfect material for the framework of cutting-edge sports facilities like the UH Operations Center due to its balance of strength, functionality, and flexibility. Many spaces in the operations center are large and open, such as the training area, weight room, and meeting spaces. These areas also require heavy athletic equipment. Steel’s strength-to-weight ratio allows for these spaces to have minimal columns while still supporting heavy equipment and the two-story design of the lobby.
Steel for Expansions and Add-Ons
When adding on to existing structures, steel is the ideal material because of its strength and ease of integration into the existing framework. The new UH scoreboard is a prime example of this. Since the new scoreboard is three times larger than the previous one, a new framework needed to be added to support the weight while maintaining structural stability. The steel components work with the stadium’s structure without needing to be redesigned. Because steel is lightweight yet durable, it provides great support that can withstand strong winds and Houston’s extreme weather conditions.
Check out other projects our team has worked on here. To learn more about steel fabrication and our services, contact us through our website here.
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