[Wattleigh]

Rosenberg

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...g-opening.html

'The front door to Fort Bend County': New sports and entertainment venue opening in Rosenberg

By Chandler France – Reporter, Houston Business Journal
Aug 16, 2023

A new $120 million, 230,000-square-foot sports and entertainment venue in Rosenberg is set to open.

The Fort Bend County Epicenter, located at 28505 Southwest Freeway, just north of the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, will host a grand opening ceremony and open house on Aug. 19. The multipurpose venue has a fixed-seating capacity of 8,600 — which can be raised to 10,000 with floor seating — and can be configured to accommodate six basketball courts or 12 volleyball courts. The project also features a 38,000-square-foot covered outdoor pavilion, 5,000 square feet of meeting and conference room space, a VIP lounge, four concession stands and four locker rooms.

The project began about four years ago when Fort Bend County Commissioners Court issued a study to gauge the need for this type of venue, said Kevin Matocha, president of Sugar Land-based Stonehenge Holdings LLC, the developer of the project. The Epicenter broke ground in November 2021. The project was funded through a public-private partnership, with the county leasing the facility for 30 years, after which it will own the property.

Stoa International Architects Inc. and PBK Sports served as the architects for the project, and Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc. was the general contractor. All three are based in Houston.

The Epicenter was designed to be multipurpose in nature with the ability to not only host sporting tournaments, but also concerts, agricultural events, high school graduation ceremonies and corporate events, Matocha said. Additionally, one of its most important potential uses is as an emergency space in the event of a natural disaster. The venue features full backup generation and can accommodate up to 1,500 people in a disaster scenario.