Award of Merit - Sports

Icahn Stadium at Randall's Island

The New York City Economic Development Corp. wanted to replace the aged and outdated Downing Stadium on Randall's Island with an Olympic-trial quality track and field facility to support local and regional amateur events.

The $45 million Icahn Stadium at Randall's Island, to be complete by year's end, should meet the mark, with seating for up to 10,000 spectators, a 400-meter running track, and a regulation-size soccer field. "It's a great project," a judge said.

The 86,443-sq.-ft. stadium sits on land that was once Randall's Island and Ward's Island. During construction of the Triborough Bridge and adjacent infrastructure, the city used surplus fill to connect them. Consequently, the stadium site borders what used to be a body of water called Little Hell's Gate, which presented dual challenges of soil unsuitability and high groundwater levels due to rising tides.

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On the other side, the team also encountered Manhattan schist, an extremely strong and durable rock type that makes for a sound foundation, but also complicates site utility work. The solution was a composite foundation and slab design with piles on one side and slab grade on the other.

One of the biggest challenges resulted from a roof that was a late design element, added thanks to a $10 million donation from billionaire financier and Queens native Carl Icahn. The construction, engineering, and design teams quickly developed a cost-effective scheme. The end result is a cable-suspended 35,000-sq.-ft. roof structure hanging from a pair of 160-ft. monumental steel towers. This design provides for column-free stadium seating and mirrors the architecture of the Triborough, which spans the length of the park.

Another hurdle was adhering to International Amateur Athletic Federation Competition standards on the 400-meter Mondo track and field. Some of the criteria included critical layout of concrete curbs and continuous slot drains and elevations that allowed drainage, with grades not to exceed a 1 percent slope. The infield has multilayered natural turf that must drain quickly over a sand substrate along with an intricate subsurface drainage system below.