News & Insights

SERIES: BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM

PART 2: Who to hire for maximizing and modernizing existing sports venues

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is the second installment in a three-part series, “Building the right team,” which examines the essential roles that drive successful sports venue projects. Part 1 (August 2025) explored assembling the right team for new ground-up construction. Part 2 (below) turns to maximizing and modernizing existing stadiums. Part 3 (next month) will focus on the unique team dynamics required for ancillary development projects, including practice facilities and mixed-use real estate.

While building new sports venues presents unique challenges, maximizing and modernizing existing facilities requires an equally strategic but fundamentally different approach to project team building. Unlike new construction’s blank slate, modernization projects must navigate existing infrastructure constraints, operational continuity, and the delicate balance between preserving what works and transforming what doesn’t.

The stakes are just as high or perhaps higher. Your venue must continue operating and generating revenue while undergoing potentially disruptive improvements. Get the project team wrong, and you risk cost overruns, delays, and operational disruptions affecting seasons, events, and revenue streams for years.

Modernization follows a diagnostic and phased approach, requiring specialized expertise at each stage to maximize return on investment while minimizing operational risk.

STEP 1: Strategic assessment and analysis

Before assembling an effective modernization team, you need to understand what you’re working with. This diagnostic phase determines whether modernization makes financial and operational sense or whether replacement might be the better strategy.

• Your first hire should be a facility conditions assessment (FCA) firm specializing in sports venues. The ideal FCA team combines designers who understand sports venue requirements, structural and MEP engineers, food and beverage experts, and cost estimators who can accurately assess and price complex retrofits.
• The FCA team evaluates existing infrastructure: structural integrity and remaining useful life, building systems performance and capacity, technology infrastructure, accessibility and code compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Equally important, engage a business planning specialist who analyzes current revenue streams, identifies untapped opportunities, benchmarks against comparable venues, and models financial scenarios for various improvement strategies.
• Consider legal counsel early if assessment reveals ADA compliance issues, public funding exploration, or lease renewal navigation.

STEP 2: Master planning and strategic prioritization

Focus shifts to strategic planning—transforming assessment findings into actionable improvement strategies.

• Your master planning team may include phase one professionals, but their role evolves to strategic design. Include architects experienced in venue modernization, engineers who can work within existing constraints, and business planners who prioritize improvements based on ROI and operational impact.
• The process addresses critical questions: Which improvements offer highest return on investment? How can enhancements be phased to minimize operational disruption? What infrastructure investments are prerequisites for future improvements?
• Cost estimators must understand retrofit complexities, account for premium costs of maintaining operations during construction, and prioritize improvements based on cost-benefit analysis.
• Operations specialists provide crucial input on how proposed changes affect daily operations, event logistics, and revenue generation.

STEP 3: Your delivery team

Phase three focuses on project delivery through detailed design and construction. The team structure mirrors new construction but with important distinctions.

• Your Owner’s representative or development manager becomes critical, coordinating construction activities and operational continuity, ensuring improvements proceed without unacceptable disruption.
• The architect and engineering team should have demonstrated experience with occupied building renovations and sports venue modernizations. They must design around existing conditions, phase work to maintain operations, and solve complex technical challenges.
• Project delivery method becomes particularly important. Design-build or construction management can offer advantages when dealing with existing building unknowns, allowing integrated problem-solving when unexpected conditions arise.

Critical issues for modernization projects

When planning modernization efforts, several recurring challenges demand close attention. Among the most significant are maintaining operations throughout construction, anticipating unforeseen issues within existing structures, navigating evolving regulatory requirements, and successfully integrating new technologies into legacy systems.

• Operational continuity: Your venue must continue serving primary functions during improvements. Ensure your team includes professionals experienced with phased construction and maintaining operations during renovation.
• Hidden conditions: Existing buildings contain surprises. Build contingencies into budget and schedule, ensuring your team includes professionals comfortable with adaptive problem-solving.
• Regulatory compliance: Modernization often triggers requirements to bring entire facilities up to current codes. Early engagement with code officials prevents costly surprises.
• Technology integration: Modern improvements often focus on technology upgrades. Ensure your team includes specialists who understand venue technology and integration with existing infrastructure.

The bottom line

Successful venue modernizations require project teams that understand these projects present fundamentally different challenges than new construction. The constraints of existing conditions, operational continuity, and phased implementation require specialized expertise and proven experience.

Start with thorough assessment through qualified FCA specialists, develop strategic priorities through experienced master planning professionals, and execute improvements through teams proven in complex occupied building renovations.

Your existing venue represents decades of community investment and countless memories. The right team can help you build on that foundation while creating modern amenities and operational efficiencies that will serve the next generation of fans.

Bill Mykins, Vice President at Brailsford & Dunlavey, brings 25 years of experience in the design, construction and delivery of sports venues. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role in the planning and execution of new sports stadiums, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standards. With a background as a design architect, he has helped shape iconic stadiums, including Nationals Park and PNC Park.  He can be reached at wmykins@bdconnect.com.