Covelli Multi-Sport Arena and Jennings Family Wrestling Practice Facility

IMEG provided engineering design services for the new LEED Silver Covelli Multi-Sport Arena at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

The Olympic sports arena houses volleyball, fencing, gymnastics, and wrestling and includes a practice facility with mats, coaches’ offices, and meeting spaces. The facility’s convertible seating design provides space for the wide variety of sports teams that will use the arena, creating a smaller volleyball court and wrestling area when needed and a much larger floor space for gymnastics.

IMEG participated in multiple workshops to coordinate project requirements between the design team and the university. An expansion of the arena’s original design – done to accommodate Olympic sports — exceeded the university’s budget for the project. To reduce the cost of the project, engineers worked with the architect on an in-depth study that included a proposal for a new, more economical site that avoided the water table issues of the original site. The arena is also connected to the Jennings Family Wrestling Practice Facility to consolidate locker rooms, storage and offices, ultimately saving the university $10 million.

Engineers provided schematic design for all MEP and fire protection systems, as well as full design services for acoustic, technology, and lighting design – which included sustainable LED sports lighting.