LONGVIEW, Texas — An indoor athletic facility could be built on the LeTourneau University campus in Longview.
On Wednesday, the city of Longview Construction Advisory and Appeals Board voted to approve a special request from LeTourneau for an inflatable dome structure on the southside of its campus.
The structure is planned to be 90 feet at its highest point, but the building code allows a maximum of 55 feet for the height of a building. During the Wednesday meeting, the board allowed the planned facility to exceed the limit set by the city code.
According to the presentation shown during the meeting, the dome would serve as an indoor athletic training facility with a 200-meter track, three batting cages, a weight room, multi-use turf, dedicated tennis and pickleball courts, retractable bleachers, a putting green for golf and more.
An outdoor rending of the facility shows the dome will be called The Hive.
Jonathan Wilcoxson, chief of staff at LeTourneau University, told the Longview News-Journal the project is in the "conceptual design phase" and no timeline has been established as the university is not sure if the project will proceed.
"Having an indoor track is really unique," Wilcoxson said after Wednesday's board meeting. He said if the project move forward, the indoor facility would be the only one of its kind in about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour radius.
Wilcoxson told the News-Journal the facility would also benefit the community as it could be used for various events, athletic events and tournaments. He noted basketball goals and volleyball nets could be moved in for temporary use during tournaments.
"We see it as being what the Belcher Center is for fine arts for athletics, so really being kind of the second front door to the university," Wilcoxson said.
