Davenport Assumption High School / St.Ambrose Univeristy – St. Vincent Sports Complex

Back to projects

Two neighboring Catholic schools in Davenport, Iowa, were in need of expanded athletic facilities to accommodate growing sports teams.
 
Assumption High School wanted to enhance its existing athletic facilities to maintain a competitive edge as compared to other area high schools. Meanwhile, nearby St. Ambrose University didn’t have a single practice or competition field to call its own – despite having more than 3,000 students and 23 varsity intercollegiate sports teams. To make due, its teams traveled to approximately 20 other facilities in the Quad Cities area to train and compete.  Assumption High School and St. Ambrose University decided that a new athletic complex was in order to showcase their excellent athletic programs and provide student athletes with contemporary sports facilities.
 
Maintaining a close partnership for decades, the two schools wanted to partner to create a shared athletic complex that could give them both what they need, and be used by other community organizations as well.
Phase I of the St. Vincent Athletic Complex involved a shortened design phase, completed in a design-build format. All of the designs were completed by Shive-Hattery and bid to subcontractors within a six-week period to allow for fall construction. The project opened for competition the following spring, and features a new natural-grass softball field and two synthetic turf practice fields. The synthetic turf fields were designed and developed for use as practice fields for soccer, lacrosse and football, as well as competition fields for soccer and lacrosse teams. Assumption High School will also use the fields for ninth-grade football games.
 
Phase II of the St. Vincent Athletic Complex will consist of designing and building a bridge that spans the Duck Creek drainage way, which connects the St. Vincent Athletic Complex with practice fields and competition softball. It will include a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose football stadium complete with a track and field, stadium seating, concession stands, ample plaza space, ADA-compliant restrooms, energy-efficient sports lighting, a press box, expanded parking, ample storage for equipment, and a building for athletic training.
 
Because St. Vincent Athletic Complex is located in a residential area, Shive-Hattery and the entire project team made concerted efforts to distance the stadium from nearby neighborhoods as much as possible, and minimize lighting and noise during sporting events.
 
St. Ambrose University and Assumption High School now have the shared athletic complex they envisioned with the St. Vincent Sports Complex.
 
The St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees’ softball, soccer, lacrosse, and football teams finally have a place to call home and no longer have to travel to other facilities to practice and compete. The upgrades and improvements, which will cost between $25 million and $30 million, also allow the university to host outdoor track meets for the first time.
 
The Assumption High School Knights will use the St. Vincent Athletic Complex for all of its soccer teams and freshman football games, as well as for practice for multiple sports teams, giving the high school more room for athletic events. Ample seating and state-of-the-art synthetic turf will provide a great home-field advantage for many years to come.