Nestled in the heart of the University of Washington Athlete Village, immediately adjacent to Husky Stadium, the 6,000-SF Softball Performance Center indoor training facility is the first major project for UW Athletics since the completion of Husky Ballpark in 2014. The metal-clad building featuring an illuminated "W" in Huskies' purple and gold instills a sense of pride in a team that, until now, was sharing practice space with teams in other facilities.

Inside, AstroTurf covers the facility's floor, and automatic retractable nets hang from the ceiling to accommodate batting, pitching, and infield training. The three (3) hitting tunnels have pitching machines and cameras that track the exit velocity of the players' hits. The Huskies can access the center at their convenience to utilize the nationally-ranked softball team's dedicated, year-round, multiple-purpose space. It also creates space for summer camps to introduce young girls to the power of the "team" and demonstrates the program's commitment to the softball team to potential recruits.

The softball program's mantra, "Mighty Are the Women," was central to the attitude of our project team managing the development, design, and construction. The Progressive Design-Build (PDB) team, including UW, trade partners, design partners, and Mortenson, focused on what was essential to the end user by including them in making decisions that were best for their project. It was essential to acknowledge the Softball program's achievements and the new facility's impact on the coaches and the team. The PDB overcame project challenges, including accommodating an extensive network of existing underground utilities through discovery, investigation, and innovation to deliver a facility that met the excellence the championship-winning team deserved.

We confidently chose an aspirational goal of 40% WMBE firm participation as we knew the size of the project provided a perfect opportunity to engage diverse, high-quality partners. After the award and with the University's input, we incorporated additional partners and ultimately awarded 41% of our contract to WMBE firms. Achievement of this goal was a complete team effort—not the responsibility of any one individual. The team felt a sense of responsibility for ensuring that all our diverse partners benefited from their involvement in the process and were able to grow from this experience. To assist in building the capacity of our WMBE partners, Mortenson offered one-on-one support and guidance. These provided a different perspective, assessed their approach, messaging, and capabilities statements, and offered guidelines on resolving issues and follow-up steps.