The Track and Training Centre at New Balance covers a whopping 455,000-square-foot, five-story space in Boston, Massachusetts. Its 200-meter hydraulic track is said to be among the fastest in the world. However, the hall is more than just its centrepiece. It is designed to support several events at the same time, and in the offseason, it can be transformed into venues for other sports such as basketball, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, and field hockey.
The TRACK at New Balance
The venue contains a track-and-field throwing area with two basketball and volleyball courts. Soccer, lacrosse, and other sports on grass are supported with a full turf court. Athletes can warm up before competitions in the dedicated 24,000-square-foot area. Visitors can observe the events from several private suites. The track also houses New Balance Sports Research Lab, a dedicated 20,000 square feet space for testing athletes, footwear, and activewear. The building remains self-sustainable through the flexibility of the fieldhouse and the combination of sports and entertainment, as it also contains a separate Roadrunner music hall that can accommodate up to 3,500 people. Events can be hosted both in the centre’s conference room or in the main track.
The track was made in collaboration with consultant and former Olympian middle-distance runner Don Paige. Paige helped design a direction for adapting all tracks and facilities for the ultimate athletic performance. The Seating area, with stadium seating and retractable seating, can accommodate up to 5,000 spectators. Four VIP boxes, event timing and video production rooms, press boxes, and a hospitality area are also a part of the design. To showcase the symbols of their brand, New Balance incorporated its trademark colours into all finishes, including track surfaces, wall padding, and, of course, the audience seats.
Elkus Manfredi Architecture
Elkus Manfredi Architecture provides everything from master and space planning to urban design, historic preservation, graphic design, and interior architecture, as well as other architectural services.
Their extensive portfolio of works includes science and technology hubs, educational and living facilities, offices, and sports centres. The firm is widely acclaimed for mixed-use placemaking that fosters community and innovation, and strategic workplace design that improves performance. Through careful planning and paying close attention to clients’ needs, the company can help create solutions that support the clients’ long-term goals. The prominent architecture firm has received multiple prizes for the TRACK at new balance design including Interior Design Association award, Architecture Masterprize Awards, SIT Interior Design Awards, BTL Design Awards, INT Interior Design Awards, and Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture & Design American Architecture Awards.
Boston Landing
This isn’t the first NB X Elikus Manfredi collaboration, as the company has already designed NB headquarters, the Warrior Ice Arena, which hosts the Boston Bruins hockey team, and the Auerbach Centre, the training facility for the Boston Celtics basketball club. All these buildings are situated in the proximity of the new Track centre at the Boston landing, a 14-acre development in Brighton. Envisioned as a wellness and health area, the site also hosts the 650,000-square-foot office and laboratory space, a residential tower, a hotel, retail, a performance venue, and a restaurant.
Photo credit: Robert Benson
