Ben Lomond High School Athletic Center

The Ben Lomond Athletic Center is a renovation and addition of three gymnasiums, concessions, weight room, wrestling room, running track, offices, locker rooms, and a 105,000-square-foot field house replacement. The construction consists of tilt-up concrete, steel, and masonry along with the addition of a new baseball field, softball field, concessions, scoring tower, and bleachers. Construction also includes the demolition of the existing field house and site improvements. The Ben Lomond Athletic Center was a new application of tilt-up for this school district. Using tilt-up saved time and money over masonry block and provided a unique approach and expression. The building features exposed architectural surfaces which create a high-quality finish that will require little to no maintenance in the future. The existing high school campus has a high water table and a history of very high moisture vapor migration upward through the concrete slab on grade. Large mineral deposits formed underneath the VCT floor covering, ultimately creating an unsightly condition and total failure of the VCT throughout the main circulation areas of the building. When contemplating the design of the new fieldhouse, the concern was even greater due to the much more moisture-sensitive wood and rubber athletic flooring. MagicSlab TM was selected below the gymnasium floors because of its ability to eliminate all saw cuts, as well as the additional option of providing an impermeable mix design that greatly reduces the possibility of vapor migration through the slab. Also, all of the main circulation floors were done as polished MagicSlab TM eliminating 95% of the typical saw cuts that would have been a part of the standard floor design. The beautiful polished finish promises to cost a tiny fraction of the lifetime maintenance cost of the previously specified VCT floor coverings. A secondary reason for using MagicSlab TM was that it gave us completely joint free casting beds. This perfect canvas paved the way for exterior panels free of reveals or the telltale telegraphing of sawcuts or cracks from the casting beds. Over 7,500 feet of saw cuts were eliminated on the project. The majority of cold joints were also eliminated. The new building boasts a 1,500-seat main gymnasium, 500-seat auxiliary gymnasium, 300-seat indoor practice facility, and a 1/6th-mile running track, among other amenities. The athletic center was designed to accommodate all boys and girls athletic programs provided at the high school. The athletic center represents a major investment from the Ogden City community in the health and well-being of all Ben Lomond High School students.