NEWS & EVENTS

Foothill College Owls Softball Stadium Named 2011 Single-Field of the Year

Foothill College, located in Los Altos Hills, is justifiably proud of its reputation as "the most beautiful community college ever built." The new Owls Softball Stadium, designed primarily for women’s softball, is one more example of the College’s commitment to maintaining the campus look and feel, as well as continuing to be a good neighbor.

In December the American Sports Builders recognized the new stadium as the 2011 Outstanding Single-Field Facility of the Year. The ASBA Awards Program has the goal of promoting the highest standards of construction excellence.

Verde redesigned the College’s large multi-purpose field to hold 3 new facilities: a natural turf soccer field that meets FIFA regulations, a basketball court-sized synthetic turf field for Futsal, and a softball stadium to support the College’s revitalized softball program.

The NCAA-class Owls Softball Stadium has been a hit with both players and fans. With seating for 120+, the stadium has a state of the art synthetic turf field with skinned fines for the pitching circle, batter’s box, bullpen and batting cages. The team dugouts have many elements of Major League dugouts: two-tier benches, first rate furnishings, and storage areas.

Making it happen meant our designers needed to resolve a number of issues. The stadium had to fit between the new soccer field, the College’s Physical Science & Engineering Complex, and an existing parking lot. In addition, residents in the neighboring community had concerns about potential noise and blocked viewsheds.

Our final design for the new stadium met the needs of the College and eased the concerns of area residents. Thoughtful field orientation provided adequate area for the stadium. To give the facility a collegiate amphitheater look and feel, our designers used stadium chair seating. The grandstand area was recessed and directed away from the surrounding neighborhood, providing sound attenuation, and backstop netting was held to 25 feet above the playing surface to address viewshed concerns.

As with every project, Verde included sustainable elements. The site irrigation system design minimizes water use and maximizes absorption. Landscaping around the field includes grass swales that provide stormwater retention and filtration.

Verde Design is pleased to be a part of the Foothill College outdoor athletic facility improvements!