A New Home for the Fightin’ Blue Hens

EDiS Company/Barton Malow Team Complete Landmark Project for the University of Delaware

Photography © Jeffrey Totaro, 2021

Combining EDiS Company’s knowledge of the Delaware community and construction company Barton Malow’s sports knowledge has resulted in the next generation of athletic facility for the University of Delaware. Built over a span of two years, the Whitney Athletic Center and Stadium Renovation project represents new beginnings for Delaware Athletics.

The new Whitney Athletic Center is an 88,617 square foot, two-story building that runs the length of the stadium outside the west grandstand. The building houses areas to serve Delaware’s student-athletes, including an academic center, weight room, athletic training and sports medicine rooms, multi-purpose space, hydro-pool and therapy pool area, kitchens, and a new entrance plaza. As an integrated hub for training and academics, this one-stop shop builds incredible efficiencies for Delaware student-athletes in managing their time while bringing focus to the development of the whole person. It’s a cutting-edge facility, but more than that, it’s a necessity in the University’s work to prepare its student-athletes for life after college. Spaces also include grab-and-go food options, academic lounges, computer labs, and small meeting rooms.

Additionally, the west stadium stands were renovated to include a new stadium club space with bar, food, and access to exclusive club seating. Restrooms and concessions were upgraded to improve the fan experience. The stadium includes an enhanced press box for game-day production staff, coach viewing, and media coverage. Chairbacks were added to the three middle seating sections on the west side.

Among the greatest challenges for the EDiS/Barton Malow team was COVID-19, which caused many construction sites across the country shut down. Working alongside our EDiS Health & Safety and HR departments, Senior Project Manager Kevin Lucas and his team gathered the most up-to-date tools to monitor over 160 contractor employees as they traveled to work each day. Carpooling was eliminated, sanitation stations set up, trailer restrictions implemented, distancing rules were established, and the daily Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates presented. Utilizing ChristianaCare’s CareVio symptom monitoring app was also an exceptional tool for staying on top of workers health. Nothing can stop EDiS from Building What Matters, and the new Whitney Athletic Center and Stadium stands as a testament to that unwavering spirit.

EDiS has invited our students to their ongoing site constructing the Whitney Athletic Center and have gone out of their way to spend time and help students learn about the construction process and technologies used in project delivery. We have had executives, project managers, site engineers, and superintendents all available and eager to spend time with the students and to help them learn. They have been a great partner for us and have added value to our educational programs.

- Dr. Edgar P. Small, Director of Construction Engineering & Management Program, University of Delaware

A Living, Breathing Classroom

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, students were given multiple opportunities to take both physical and virtual tours of the Delaware Stadium and Whitney Athletic Center project. Associate Professor Dr. Edgar Small, Director of the Construction Engineering and Management Program, brought his freshman class along to get a first-hand look at what construction and construction planning looked like in the field. After tours of the actual site, Director of Building Information Modeling (BIM) Services Chris Donahue led virtual tours where students were able to see online renderings of what was physically being built.