Paris Cooperative High School Stadium & Multi-Sport Complex

Creating today’s New Paris Cooperative High School was the result of collaboration between two local school districts, Paris Union School District 95 and Community Unit School District No. 4, The City of Paris, the Illinois Capital Development Board, and passionate residents. Community forums helped the design team understand the needs of the community and incorporate features like collaborative spaces, multiple science labs, and fine arts areas into the building project.

When it was time to design the athletic complex, Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) was selected to continue supporting the needs of the community by designing a football stadium and multi-sport complex with the following features:

• Natural grass football field
• Eight-lane latex running track
• Pole vault and high-jump areas
• Competition baseball and softball fields with dug outs, bullpens and bleachers
• Field event areas for discus, shot put and long jump
• Tennis courts

EEA’s design of the natural grass turf field centered on maximizing the playing time of students.  A drainage system was placed around the perimeter of the field along with a network of underdrain panels to keep the turf dry and playable regardless of weather conditions.

Initially, the only available property for the tennis courts contained a stockpile of high-moisture soil dredged from a nearby lake. EEA civil engineers were able to move forward with the tennis court design by devising a solution to reduce the compaction of the soil and adding an underdrain system beneath the pavement to extend the pavement longevity. The surface of the asphalt was also sawcut with joints to confine inevitable cracking away from the playing areas.