Round Rock Sports Center begins construction for expansion project
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Construction is beginning on a big expansion project for the Round Rock Sports Center. It could make room for thousands of more people to compete in sports in Round Rock every weekend.
"Round Rock’s known as the Sports Capital of Texas, and so we take that very seriously," said Chad McKenzie, Round Rock’s director of sports management and tourism.
They want to drill that nickname in a little further.
"Anything you can think of that you can perform activities on a hardwood sports court surface, we’re ready to rock' n roll," said Brian Stillman, Round Rock’s division manager of sports facilities and operations.
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At the Round Rock Sports Center on Thursday, construction crews carved out where the foundation will eventually lay on the new expansion project approved by voters in last year's $274 million bond package.
"We are early on, so we still have a little over a year’s worth of construction," said McKenzie. "They've done a lot in the first month, but there’s a lot still to go."
Construction began in early September. When it’s done, the layout will be a little larger than two basketball courts and space for bleachers.
"Giant hole in the ground, but basically what you’re seeing there, we’re pouring concrete piers at the moment and then that will be the base of our flooring that will go in," said Stillman.
Those two new shiny basketball courts can also be used as four volleyball courts. Plus, the city is pouring in an additional 400 parking spots.
"That’s one of those things, you can never have enough parking, it seems, for these types of events and activities," said Stillman.
For McKenzie, the why behind it all comes down to one word.
"Demand," said McKenzie. "We have so many local kids and local folks around the Austin area and Round Rock kids especially as their home."
Roughly 4,000-6,000 people show up to the sports center every weekend.
And if the city wants to keep the title, "sports capital of Texas," it said it can't do it without more space.
"We’ve kind of been honestly over capacity since we opened the existing square center ten plus years ago," said Stillman. "We have a lot more demand than we have court space, court hours available."
During this expansion, there may be a few times when construction interferes with tournaments.
The project is expected to be done by early 2026.
Managers of the facility want to try to pass another bond for six additional courts.