DOWNTOWN OGDEN FIELDHOUSE/VELODROME
This is the report on an in-depth study of the plans for the downtown fieldhouse/ velodrome and a plan to make it into one that is world-class by a civil engineer. Because of the length, it is being divided into two parts.
I was asked to put this report on the blog for him. I am happy to do it because I agree with many of the issues and questions that are presented in it. In Godfrey’s haste to push the downtown plan, major issues/concerns have been overlooked. Please look at the report on the Business Plan and then contact the Weber County Commissioners before Wenesday, Feb. 9th. Dorrene Jeske
PART ONE – DOWNTOWN FIELDHOUSE
The velodrome/fieldhouse is good in concept, but the proposed location conflicts with the downtown Historic District as the entire proposed site is within the boundaries of the District, and will overpower Historic 25th St.
LOCATION: The downtown fieldhouse has many good aspects, but in order to configure it to fit the limited area, some aspects were minimized or deleted in the current plan. This creates some critical problems and questions that are not answered.
Viewed Problems and Questions
Seating – A very large amount of the seating is retractable seating and folding chairs which is acceptable for schools and multi-purpose facilities, but not for a “world class” facility for International and Olympic events. A professional facility has fixed seating that are supplemented with sets of folding chairs to allow an event to be adaptable for multiple uses and events.
b. Locating the swimming pool and water park next to the velodrome creates a big and costly maintenance problems with velodrome’s tracks due to critical amounts of moisture seeping through to the specially constructed wood slat foot and bicycle racing tracks. Warping of the wood is quite possible.
c. The main entrance and venue access control, according to the plan, appears to be on the south side and has everyone traversing through the middle of the water park.
d. This creates a very serious security problem and a risk for small children.
e. The visitor access to the water park would be comprised and could seriously impact revenue.
f. The plan indicates that there is no out-of-the-weather access from the Marriott Hotel to the fieldhouse and the Kiesel Skybridge because the north side corridor does not extend completely along the north side of the facility.
2. Construction: Compacting the fieldhouse into such a small space significant and costly challenges are likely.
a. Groundwater will be a concern due to the footings and foundation required by this type of facility.
b. Environmental safety and haz-mat clean up will be costly due to asbestos removal in buildings that will be demolished and soil contamination by former property owners.
c. Historic District designation will need to be evaluated. As the fieldhouse is to be located within the Historic District, the height of the building is a concern as it exceeds the current standards and will overwhelm Historic 25th Street, and eliminate the casual outdoor dining of some of the restaurants on 25th St.
d. The closing of Grant Avenue will seriously impact automobile traffic in downtown Ogden and could possibly slow down or have negative affects on the revitalization of downtown Ogden as Grant Avenue is a prime access to the Junction and businesses west of Washington.
BUSINESS PLAN:
The Business Plan is not a comprehensive plan and omits a couple of critical elements:
Market Saturation – the success of the fieldhouse is based on the water park and swimming pool being used 360 days per year at least at 75 percent capacity to break even and be self supporting. It is predictable that the water park from the information provided is that the summer market would be uncertain due to the availability of other water parks in the greater Ogden area that are closer to the users’ home.
From the plan, we glean that the water park is expected to be the financial supporter of the fieldhouse, and that revenue (if any) by fieldhouse events will generate a positive cash flow and a profit.
The Ogden high school pools are old and need to be closed which is taken into consideration in the proposed plan. It is assumed that the two Ogden High Schools along with several Weber County High Schools would use the only pool in the Fieldhouse. This poses an important question: “How are these schools’ various swimming teams to be scheduled for training and school events along with the events of the Olympic pool? The schools will need to consider the additional funds needed for busing students to the Fieldhouse.
Question: Can this single pool serve all these activities and requirements? A major flaw in the proposed plan.
The use of folding and retractable seating is not likely to grant the Fieldhouse and water park “World Class” status. Permanent, comfortable seating is expected in a “World Class” facility.
The construction of the building is going to require some multi-level structural engineering and layout design which requires compressing the facility to fit the restricted land available. A major safety concern is the footings and foundation that will be required to support and stabilize a building of this size in an area that is plagued with water and a high water table.
The removal of hazardous materials from buildings to be demolished and contaminated substances looks to be extensive and expensive as will the disposal of the same.
No allowance for a heating and cooling plant, which is a necessity, was considered in the proposed plan. This will need to be a sizeable facility of which there is no place to accommodate one in the proposed condensed area downtown.
The downtown location has a parking problem and will not be able to accommodate event visitor and participants parking without using parking needed by downtown businesses for approximately four to six blocks around the Fieldhouse. Also traffic would be very congested downtown, creating problems for those who are downtown for purposes other than sporting events.
Traffic flow will be disrupted due to the closure of Grant Avenue and negatively affect downtown businesses.
It is recommend that the fieldhouse be compartmentalized to reduce costs.
A recommendation of the Fieldhouse and water park is to place them at a proposed location west of Wall Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets.
One benefit of locating the fieldhouse downtown could be that the local downtown businesses would experience increased “walk-in” business.
