USA Baseball - National Training Complex

USA Baseball, the governing body that selects and trains the Olympic team and other U.S. amateur teams, selected Heery to lead the planning and design for its new stadium and training center at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, North Carolina.  The central feature of the facility is a 1,500-seat signature stadium, with additional grass-sloped seating down each foul line.  The stadium provides complete amenity services for spectators along with a dynamic steel and fabric shade canopy.

Adjacent to the stadium are three major-league caliber practice fields, a professional clubhouse and training facility as well as a hall-of-fame/retail entry plaza, which celebrates the history and contributions of USA Baseball.  Unique to the project is an emphasis on landscape and integration with an existing park context.  To this end, each playing field is lowered to allow all attendees panoramic views from elevated, tree-lined circulation paths, reinforcing the park setting.

As a gesture to encourage family interaction and a sense of community, a children’s field is located within the complex, between the three practice fields.  This distinctive feature allows parents and children the opportunity to interact through wiffle-ball games within an intimate venue while other events are taking place.