Sports of all sorts: a roundup of building projects underway across the country.(Special Report - Architecture - Sports Venues)(Cover Story)

From showplaces for new expansion teams to aging venues ripe for rehabilitation, the sports sector of entertainment design is enjoying a building boom. In a special TCI sports report, here's a roster of recently completed facilities plus projects on the boards.

Celebrating its official grand opening this month, Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, FL, is a 5100-million, 200-acre complex that will support more than 30 international sporting events. Designed by architect David Schwarz, a 7,500-seat, double-decker baseball stadium will serve as the full-time spring training facility for the Atlanta Braves beginning next year. (The team christened the venue in an exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds in March.) Featuring equipment supplied by Musco Sports Lighting, the grass field is framed by grandstand-style seating for 7,500, with 2,000 fans accommodated by grass seating down the third-base line. A 1,200-sq.-ft. retail facility accompanies the ballpark.

Elsewhere on the Disney campus, eight additional complexes support sporting events, including gymnastics, in-line hockey, beach volleyball, and track and field. The US Men's Clay Court Championship was held here last month at the 11-court complex. The Amateur Athletic Union has relocated from Indianapolis to the Disney sports campus, and more than 100 amateur championship sporting events will be onsite during the summer. The first year's roster of events includes the President's Holiday Soccer Challenge, the AAU Masters Men's National Basketball Championship, and the AAU Junior Olympic Games. The Harlem Globetrotters have also made their home here at the 5,000-seat fieldhouse with six basketball courts.

Joining the stadium built for the Braves in Atlanta (page 36), a new basketball venue soon will shore up the local sports scene. TBS Properties is planning a new $141-million downtown sports arena to house the Atlanta Hawks. Designed by architects HOK Sport (Kansas City) in collaboration with Arquitectonica (Miami), the venue will rise on the site of the Omni Coliseum, the NBA team's current home. The new arena is set to open in the fall of 1999, with the Hawks playing at the Georgia Dome and Alexander Memorial Coliseum during construction. The new arena will seat between 19,500 and 22,500 spectators, and will be enhanced with 100 private suites, 2,000…