Feb. 6, 2013

Fowler Park: A Product of University Collaboration
By Pat Tangen
Principal / Project Manager
Populous

FowlerParkFactSheetByPopulous

Fowler Park will open on February 15 as one of the premier college baseball facilities in the nation. It's a facility everyone involved can be proud of- it features major league amenities, closer proximity to the action than any collegiate ballpark I've seen, an intimidating home field advantage and a fan experience that rivals any other in Division I baseball. While the end result has a definite wow factor, this was made possible because of the unique collaborative process that took place over the past two years.

Fowler Park is a success because of the focus the entire project team placed on collaboration. As the architects for the project, Populous enjoyed working closely with our clients at the university and realized quickly how unique it was to be working with a group of professionals who, together, had so many of years of experience in athletics facility planning and operations. While many projects are handled by a primary client contact as time progresses, a group of decision makers from the University of San Diego, including Ky Snyder, Roger Manion, Josh Lawrence, Mary Whelan, Brian Fogerty, Conley Robinson and Rich Hill, were involved from start to finish, allowing us to better understand the intricacies of the campus architecture, the needs of the Toreros baseball team and the aspirations of the athletic department. It comes as no surprise, then, that this collaborative process resulted in a facility that has a unique sense of place and melds seamlessly with the campus' existing architecture. By working so closely with an experienced team who understood and were uniquely invested in the ultimate success of the facility, we created a college ballpark that is one of the best in the nation.

The ballpark is better because we discussed design decisions with the entire team and everyone brought something to the discussion - Ky's understanding of sightlines and the fan experience; Josh's experience with operations and the team's needs; Roger's knowledge of the operational logistics and ballpark on USD's campus; Mary's understanding of the 16th century Spanish Renaissance Style; Conley's experience with constructing buildings and the process; and Brian's depth of knowledge of development opportunities. These sort of contributions helped shape Fowler Park. Populous came to the table with experience and ideas and the University of San Diego's expert leadership helped us mold and refine those ideas into a ballpark that could only fit on USD's campus.