Rock Chalk Park
The Rock Chalk Park Sports Complex was created by KU Athletics to accommodate the growing demand for better facilities. The complex has a 1,500-seat softball stadium, a 2,500-seat soccer stadium, and a track facility that can seat up to 10,000 fans. In addition, there are approximately 90,000 square feet of locker rooms, offices, official rooms, training room, and athletic training facilities located under the east stands.
Rock Chalk Park required many different types of foundations and structural methods. In order for the Complex to receive an IAAF Class I certification, they had to meet several tight tolerances:
- The cross slope of the main oval had to be less than 1.00
- The downward slope of the straightaway for the running events had to be less than 0.10
- The lengths of the 100m, 110m, and 200m events had to be within 0.010m of the proposed distance
- The lengths of the 400m had to be within 0.030m of the proposed distance
- Elevations and lengths for the report were measured to the nearest millimeter
The surface at Rock Chalk Park, installed by Beynon Sports Surfaces, underwent in-situ testing for the certification process. The average depth of the running surface for IAAF Class I certification is 12 mm, while the average depth for Rock Chalk Park ranged from 16mm to 19mm.
“The BSS 2000 system installed at Rock Chalk Park offers the ultimate edge in performance while providing a safe site for daily training,” said John Beynon, founder of Beynon Sport. “A force-reduction layer, constructed with butyl rubber and polyurethane allows athletes to take advantage of top-level control and maximum energy return.”
AOG provided geotechnical drilling and engineering for the design phase of the project and material inspections and testing throughout construction.
Project Partners:
- Paul Werner Architects
- Gould Evans
- BSE Structural Engineers
- Bliss Sports
