LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/274582
96 Landscape Architect and Specifier News The Elizabethtown Sports Park began with the city of Elizabethtown, Ky., and the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau's vision to create a regional tournament-quality sports facility that would provide an amenity for the community and bring sports tourism to the area. Mayor David Willmoth, Jr., and Tourism Director Sherry Murphy worked with community leaders to research similar facilities, pass a local hotel and restaurant tax to partially fund the park, and hire a consultant to dream big and take advantage of one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry. Element Design (formerly M2D Design Group) of Lexington, Ky., was hired to work on the master plan for what began as a much smaller facility. As the first plan generated local excitement and the bonding capacity from the local tax grew, so did the vision for the park. The city eventually acquired additional land adjacent to the original site, expanding the future facility to 158 acres. Element Design assembled a team of park and sports field experts to reimagine the design and provide construction documents to build the park. Design Challenges The site came with no shortage of physical planning and design issues. Properly siting and sizing the expansive number of fields and infrastructure necessary to make the park appealing for large tournaments across the 158-acre site was a daunting proposition. The north half of the site, which would become soccer/multi-sport fields, was partially located within a 100-year floodplain and included an emergent wetland that could not be developed. The south half of the site, which became baseball/softball fields, had considerable topography challenges that needed to be balanced to accommodate all 12 baseball fields. The Right The Sports Park's entrance drive includes 'Universe'-model lighting (Architectural Area Lighting) with 150w metal halide bulbs, entry walls and columns, ornamental entrance gates (Ameristar) and park logo signage. The drive leads to five separate parking lots with nearly 1,000 parking spaces to accommodate large groups and tournaments. Above An aerial view of the completed park, with the "Red" baseball complex in the foreground, emphasizes the scope of the 158-acre facility. More than 600,000 cubic yards of earth were moved during construction to prepare and grade the site. The park loop road, central parking lot and planted filtration areas are also visible. (Continued on page 98) 94-103.indd 96 2/26/14 4:43 PM