CityofColumbia ParksandRecreationDepartment

The purpose of this project was to provide the City of Columbia and the University of Missouri Athletics with a championship cross country facility able to host a variety of race events. The project was funded by a combination of revenue from the 2015 City of Columbia Park Sales Tax and funding from the University of Missouri Athletics.

Located at Gans Creek Recreation Area, a 320-acre property purchased by the City of Columbia in 2007 was originally meant to be developed into a multi-sport park for tournament soccer and baseball to serve Columbia’s large southward population growth. Now, the Gans Creek Cross Country course is reimagining the sport.

As Phase I of the multi-sport park was underway in 2015, regional trends in large tournament soccer facilities began shifting to a preference of artificial turf fields, leading to a reimagining of the park. By the spring of 2016, Columbia Parks and Recreation entered into a unique partnership with the Missouri State High School Activities Association and the University of Missouri Athletics to race to the front of the growing trend of dedicated cross country courses with the development of a championship facility as a stand-alone park amenity that can host a variety of running events for all skill levels and be the first dedicated cross country course open to the public.

The Landscape Architect worked alongside University of Missouri Track and Field and Cross Country coaching staff to lead the planning and design process to create a unique event facility for athletes and spectators. Working with the partially developed site was a significant challenge to create a looping course that would allow different race distance events. Typical high school athletes all run a 5-kilometer race, while NCAA women run a 4k and 6k, and NCAA men run an 8k and 10k. It was decided that a 2k and 3k loop would maximize the possible race events, allowing athletes to return to the large spectator area multiple times during a race. The involvement of the landscape architect was vital during construction, measuring and remeasuring the alignments, slopes, and turns, with the final plan resulting in a competitive, spectator friendly, and environmentally sensitive facility for future generations.

Course layout, timing structures, and timing tower planned and designed by Parks and Recreation Landscape Architect with the support of University of Missouri Athletics coaching staff. Site grading, seed & sod completed by local contractors and Parks and Recreation Sports Turf staff. Construction of all permanent structures and installation of fiber/electric conduit completed by Parks and Recreation Construction staff. Irrigation designed and installed by Parks and Recreation Sports Turf staff.

Gans Creek is the first of only two cross country facilities planned by landscape architects in the U.S. It is the only facility with permanent infrastructure that not only produces world class competitive races, but provides an unmatched spectator experience.

GANS

Creek

CROSS COUNTRY COURSE, Columbia, Missouri

Parks, Recreation & Open Space Design - MERIT AWARD