Eunice, NM is a community built around two main elements: the school and the gas and oil industry. The families of the community are largely dependent upon the oil industry and have rallied around the school to create a strong sense of pride and community. School athletics are a key element to school pride, and this facility was essential to the economic growth of the area and provides durable, long-lasting facilities using design elements that are inspiring and thought-provoking.

The design and construction of a new Athletic Complex for Eunice Public Schools replaced the existing aging and unsafe facilities that had outlived their intended life. The newly re-configured Athletic Complex features a new entrance gateway canopy sheltering the ticket booths below with two opposing grandstands overlooking the new synthetic track and fields while providing a total seating capacity of 3,087 spectators. The visitor grandstands include an independent vertically cantilevered press box while the home grandstands have a bi-level press box for announcers and filming. The new concessions building is centrally located on the north side of the field to effectively unify the community by bringing people together. The pump jacks found within the region are translated into various elements of the architecture with their structural expression underscoring the identity of “place.”

The project was carefully sequenced to allow continued use of the existing facilities during the 12-month construction duration. The design goals included creating functional facilities that were designed and built to last more than 60 years while being unique to the community of Eunice. The design team embraced the challenge to create facilities that have an identity specific to the area throughout the facility and elected to showcase the structural forms of the facilities to reinforce school pride, dynamic movement, and the identity of the community.