Community Sports Complex Architect in Los Angeles: Designing Recreation Spaces That Serve the Whole… | SPF:architects

Community Sports Complex Architect in Los Angeles: Designing Recreation Spaces That Serve the Whole City

At SPF: architects, we see community sports facilities as more than courts and gyms. In a city like Los Angeles, a recreation center is often the most visible public investment a neighborhood experiences. It can support health, safety, local pride, and a daily sense of belonging for people of all ages.

The Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex in Baldwin Hills is a clear example of this philosophy. Previously known as the Rancho Cienega Recreation Center, the multibuilding complex had decades of history as a training ground for local athletes, yet its facilities no longer matched current needs. The City of Los Angeles selected SPF: architects through a design competition to expand and redevelop the site as a contemporary sports campus that serves a population of roughly 100,000 residents.

In this article, we share how we approached that challenge and what cities and agencies can learn when planning their own community sports complexes in Los Angeles and beyond.

Why Community Sports Complexes Matter in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has a deep culture of sports at every level, from school programs to professional franchises. For many neighborhoods, however, access to quality recreation space has been uneven. The Obama Sports Complex sits within a 24-plus-acre park at the intersection of Obama Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The site now includes an indoor gym, an Olympic-size pool, a raised walking track, a tennis center and stadium, and an enclosed garden, all organized to support everyday use as well as larger events.

For public agencies, investment in a community sports complex has an impact far beyond the scoreboard. A well-designed complex can:

  • Provide safe, supervised places for youth and families to gather
  • Offer indoor and outdoor exercise opportunities that support long-term health
  • Host events that strengthen neighborhood identity and pride
  • Signal visible investment in parts of the city that have historically been underserved

When these goals are clear from the start, architecture, landscape, and programming can work together rather than in parallel.

From Aging Facility to Expanded Community Brief

When the City first considered redeveloping the former Rancho Cienega facilities, the project might have been a straightforward replacement of aging buildings. During the design competition, the SPF: architects team created a project website and invited feedback from park users and nearby residents. The message that came back was consistent. The community wanted more space, more flexibility, and more ways to exercise and gather.

In response, the brief evolved to include:

  • A roughly 23,000 square foot indoor pool facility for community and competitive use
  • A 16,000 square foot gymnasium with two high school regulation basketball courts
  • A mezzanine walking track that offers a safe, all-weather route for walking and running
  • Fitness rooms, community rooms, and staff spaces that support a wide mix of programs
  • Strong connections to the existing stadium, tennis center, and surrounding park landscape

This expanded program transformed the project from a simple rebuild into a true community sports campus. For cities, it shows the value of structured outreach early in the design process. By listening closely, a sports complex architect can align the project with real demand instead of assumptions.

Designing for All Ages and Abilities

A successful recreation complex must serve many different users on the same day. At the Obama Sports Complex, that means early morning lap swimmers, after-school teams, seniors walking for exercise, weekend tournaments, and families attending events.

Key design strategies include:

  • Separating the pool and gym into two primary buildings so peak use in one does not overwhelm the other
  • Providing an elevated walking track that overlooks the gym, giving walkers a dedicated route with a visual connection to the activity below
  • Creating clear, accessible paths that link parking, entries, courts, pool decks, and spectator areas
  • Maintaining and enhancing an enclosed garden that supports quieter community uses and connects to the original community building.

By planning for a wide range of ages and abilities, the complex stays active throughout the day rather than only during scheduled games. This everyday presence strengthens the sense of ownership that residents feel toward the facility.

Using Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings to Stretch the Budget

Every public project must balance ambition and budget. At the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex, SPF: architects and the City turned to pre-engineered metal buildings as the primary structural system for the new pool and gym.

Pre-engineered metal buildings offered several advantages:

  • Large, clear span spaces suited to courts and pools without complex custom structure
  • Faster fabrication and erection compared to many conventional systems
  • Lower overall cost, allowing more program areas within the available budget

Within this framework, the design team used glazing, clerestories, translucent panels, and carefully detailed wall systems to bring in daylight and create a civic presence. The result is a pair of buildings that read as robust public architecture, not anonymous sheds. Articles in Metropolis and Metal Construction News highlight how this approach delivered more square footage and volume for less money while still meeting high expectations for performance and appearance.

For cities, the lesson is that cost-effective construction systems can support strong design. What matters is how structure, envelope, and light are composed.

Planning for Safety, Access, and Clear Wayfinding

Community sports complexes must be intuitive and safe for first-time visitors. People arrive with children, sports equipment, strollers, and sometimes mobility devices. Confusing layouts or hidden entries can quickly undermine the sense of welcome.

At the Obama Sports Complex, safety and clarity shaped a number of planning decisions:

  • Main entries face key streets and parking areas, with welcoming facades and visible activity
  • Player, spectator, and service circulation are planned to intersect where helpful and separate where necessary
  • Accessible routes connect all major levels and programs, including the walking track and spectator seating
  • Exterior lighting and landscape are coordinated to support visibility during early morning and evening hours

Because the complex is part of a larger park, architecture and landscape work together to frame outdoor fields and courts. Paths and plazas are designed as social spaces, not just leftover circulation.

Linking Recreation, Health, and Sustainability

The Obama Sports Complex is not only a sports project. It is also a statement about health and sustainability. The gymnasium wing has been highlighted as one of the city’s first net-zero energy civic buildings, with strategies such as tubular daylighting devices, natural ventilation through operable walls, and a rooftop photovoltaic array that helps offset energy use.

For community members, these choices translate into bright, comfortable interiors that rely less on artificial lighting. For the City, they demonstrate that investments in underserved neighborhoods can lead to energy performance and environmental responsibility, not lag behind.

When a recreation complex aligns program, public health, and sustainability in this way, it becomes a powerful reference for future civic projects.

Lessons for Cities Planning New Community Sports Complexes

Every site, budget, and community is different, but several lessons from the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex can guide cities and agencies as they plan new facilities:

  • Engage the community early and often, and be willing to adjust the program in response
  • Think in terms of a campus of buildings and outdoor spaces rather than a single box
  • Use efficient structural systems, then invest in light, circulation, and material quality
  • Make safety, accessibility, and clear wayfinding central design priorities
  • Connect recreation goals to broader health and sustainability objectives

When these principles guide the process from feasibility through construction, the result is more likely to be a sports complex that is heavily used, well-maintained, and widely supported.

Conclusion

The Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex shows how a carefully designed community sports complex can serve far more than scheduled games. By combining cost-effective pre-engineered structures with thoughtful planning, daylight, landscape, and strong civic presence, SPF: architects helped the City of Los Angeles deliver a new heart for recreation in Baldwin Hills.

If your city or agency is considering a new community sports complex or an upgrade to an existing facility, partnering with an architect who understands both technical demands and community priorities is essential. SPF: architects brings experience across civic, cultural, and recreational projects, along with a track record of delivering award-winning public work.

To begin a conversation about how SPF: architects can support your next recreation project, visit the contact page on our website at spfa.com/contact.