Branded as the University of Ontario Institute of Technology when it first opened its doors in 2002, the school has since grown to accommodate over 10,000 undergraduate students. The school adopted the brand name Ontario Tech University in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since. Now with two campuses in the Oshawa area, the school’s academic programs are administered by six faculties: the Faculty of Business and Information Technology, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, the Faculty of Health Science, the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities.
In addition to the academic programming that has helped the school reach the masses, its athletic programming has become a force all its own. Serving as home to the Ridgebacks, the school now includes athletics teams in soccer, badminton, basketball, field lacrosse, golf, hockey and rowing.
As part of the development of the athletic program, Vaso’s field was constructed in 2018 to serve as home to the Ridgebacks. The field features FIFA-approved artificial turf, new MUSCO LED lighting, and includes change rooms and a press box to serve the women's field lacrosse, and the men's and women's soccer programs.
To accommodate the successful athletics programming, the school was looking to install an impressive bleacher seating structure at the field. Hoping to accommodate up to 700 spectators, the school invited our team out to have a walk along the field and measure the available footprint for a prospective bleacher that would satisfy the school’s needs.
Like many of the sites we visit, there were a few obstacles to consider including light standards and a rear fence line that would really affect the available space we had to work with. In addition to designing the bleachers to both fit the prospective space and to accommodate the necessary number of spectators, this structure had to be completely barrier-free in nature. This means that it was to be completely accessible for all by including two custom barrier free notch-outs for seating for up to 8 spectators.
With the challenge at hand, our engineering team quickly got to work on the design stage. Once we had detailed concepts, we shared the drawings with key stakeholders from the university who were thrilled with what our team had designed. In addition to 12 rows worth of seating, the structure was also equipped with eight barrier-free seating areas that can accommodate wheelchairs and other spectators.
To keep people from going underneath the bleachers, we utilized an aluminum facade which also gave the bleacher a more aesthetically pleasing look.
In total, the new bleachers seat 718 spectators and are ready to roll for the fall sport seasons.
Go Ridgebacks!