UNA Masterplan Concept

University of North Alabama*

Florence, AL

2021-2023

*Concept started while Principal at Mammoth.

On August 3, 2022, near the famous shoals of Alabama, The University of North Alabama Lions received Division 1 classification with the NCAA.  The storied legacy of the UNA Lions would now have its time in the sun in Division 1. Josh Looney, former athletic director at prosperous Missouri Western and recently appointed athletic director asked Mammoth Sports Construction to come take a look at the existing home of the Lions football team. The current stadium is owned by the city of Florence and would need alteration to accommodate the growing football program at the university.

After realizing the university’s tenancy situation created less than an ideal opportunities for improvements, the initial ask was to ascertain if it was possible to build a new football stadium to the heart of the UNA campus directly adjacent to the existing baseball stadium and basketball arena, creating a campus athletic district. The programmatic spaces initially identified were a new stadium for football with premium spectator options, Student athlete weight training amenities and additional student accommodations desperately needed on campus.

After studying multiple conceptual layouts, the concept of a multi-use stadium flanked by student housing emerged. The initial concept gave the Mammoth design department the green light to dive deeper into the UNA Athletic department’s needs through user group interviews and facility assessments. 

After departing Mammoth to create my own design build firm, I dove deeper into visualizing the design of the original concept. In reality, the stadium will be taking a different design direction but the initial idea seemed like a solution that deserved to be pushed further.