The Multiple Benefits of the Payson Athletic Center
An aerial view of the David N. Wilson Multipurpose Educational Facility in Payson, Arizona.
The picturesque Mongollon Rim mountain range behind the newly constructed gymnasium—part of an expansion to Payson High School.
Coaches, athletes and sports fans are delighted with Payson Unified School District’s new multipurpose dome, which will be home to the district’s middle and high school basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams.
“It gives us a fantastic arena for spectator sports,” said High School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Barry Smith. “The 50-foot ceiling gives such an airy, open feeling. It’s a perfect fit with our suspended, four-sided scoreboard, and will be great for people to watch.”
Smith said he is impressed by the dome’s construction and floor plan. “The layout couldn’t be better. They took a square gym and put it into a round building, and it is great.”
The large four-sided scoreboard is suspended directly from the 50-foot tall concrete shell. The new facility seats 2,400—quadruple the old gym.
The dome features one competition court that splits into two practice courts, as well as four coaches’ offices, two sets of boys’ and girls’ locker rooms and storage space. It also seats 2,400—four times more people than the school’s existing gym.
“Thanks to using this type of building, we were able to get into a facility we needed for the amount of money that was available to us,” the athletic director said.
The spacious multipurpose room behind the bleachers with the mats set out for wrestling practice.
The large entry foyer along with concession space. Administrators at Payson were impressed with the dome’s construction and floor plan.
District Superintendent Rus Kinzer said the new sports complex only cost about $2.8 million, as opposed to the $5 or $6 million it would have cost for a comparable building with traditional methods.
He said the dome’s attractive price tag helped convince people to give the unconventional building a try.
“People have to get used to the shape, but that’s already happening. We haven’t heard a lot of grumbling because people see the price and are impressed with the use of taxpayer money.”
But the savings don’t stop there, Kinzer said. “We anticipate that maintenance and energy costs will be fairly low. I was in there this winter when there was snow on the dome and no heaters, and it was still 70 degrees in there with just the lights heating it.”
With the bleachers retracted, the competition court splits into two practice courts.
When the multipurpose dome opens for use this summer, it will mark the completion of the school district’s second Monolithic Dome facility in the past two years.
You have to do a lot of groundwork with contractors and building inspectors,“ the superintendent said. "They’re used to straight lines and square corners, and are a little skeptical. But now that we’ve gone through the process, it would go more smoothly next time.”
When asked if there are more domes in Payson’s future, Kinzer smiled. “I think the district is likely to consider building more domes in the future, but not until after I retire,” he joked, adding, “I’m just kidding. It was well worth any extra work we had to do.”
Reprinted from the Summer 1997 of the Roundup: Journal of the Monolithic Dome Institute.
The 200-foot diameter dome behind the running track and football field. Completed in 1997, the new sports complex cost about $2.8 million—as opposed to about $5 million for a comparable conventional structure.