McAdams Acquires Sports Design Group, Expanding Athletic Facility Design Expertise and Building on Firm’s Dynamic Texas Growth

Specialized Texas practice brings decades of experience across K-12, collegiate, municipal and professional sports facilities

RALEIGH, N.C. and DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX – McAdams announced today that it has acquired Sports Design Group (SDG), a specialized athletic facility design practice based in McKinney, Texas, adding a dedicated athletic-facility design specialist to McAdams’ multidisciplinary services and significantly enhancing McAdams’ already-robust sports and entertainment capabilities.

Led by Richard McDonald, Sports Design Group brings decades of specialized experience in the planning, design and construction of athletic facilities. Having experience with approximately 250 synthetic turf fields and 125 natural grass fields spanning K-12, collegiate, municipal and professional sports environments across the nation, Richard joins McAdams as Senior Advisor, Sports.

SDG’s experience spans every level of competition, from K-12 and collegiate athletics to some of the most recognizable venues in professional sports, including NFL and MLB facilities. Their experience includes work associated with the Dallas Cowboys Training Facility and Frisco ISD Stadium, Lambeau Field, Notre Dame Stadium and the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium

SDG’s Texas K-12 portfolio includes athletic facilities for school districts across the state, including Mansfield ISD, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Hays ISD, HEB ISD, Longview ISD, San Antonio ISD and San Marcos ISD.

“When you look at the breadth of SDG’s experience, from school district facilities across Texas to some of the most recognizable venues in professional and college sports, it’s impressive,” said Mike Munn, Chief Executive Officer of McAdams. “But what really stood out to us was the technical knowledge behind that portfolio. Athletic facility design is incredibly specialized, and this depth of expertise significantly enhances our in-house capabilities. Bringing it to McAdams creates an even more powerful way for us to support our clients.”

That expertise extends well beyond what athletes and spectators see on the playing surface. Athletic facilities require specialized knowledge of grading, drainage, soil conditions, natural and synthetic turf systems, tracks and field events, safety, maintenance and construction. SDG’s work spans new facilities and renovations, as well as master planning, field studies, facility evaluations, testing, inspections and construction oversight.

By bringing that expertise together with McAdams’ capabilities in civil engineering, landscape architecture, land planning, surveying, water resources, transportation, construction administration and other complementary services, the combination creates opportunities to support more aspects of clients’ athletic facility, campus and community projects through a connected team.

For McAdams clients, particularly those in K-12, higher education, municipal, parks and recreation and other community-focused markets, the addition creates access to specialized athletic facility expertise that complements work McAdams already provides. McAdams has previously developed sports and athletic facilities for collegiate, K-12 and municipal clients, including UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan Stadium, NC State’s Doak Baseball Field and Stadium, and in Texas, the Lewisville ISD Marcus High School Football Stadium. For SDG clients, it means continued access to the specialized knowledge and relationships they rely on today, with the ability to tap into additional McAdams capabilities as project needs evolve.

“Sports Design Group has always been focused on understanding what our clients need and helping them create athletic facilities that perform for the people who use them,” said Richard McDonald, Founder of Sports Design Group. “Joining McAdams gives the firm an opportunity to continue doing that while bringing additional expertise and capabilities to our clients. It’s exciting to see what our firms will be able to accomplish together.”

The addition will initially strengthen McAdams’ athletic facility capabilities in Texas, where SDG has developed deep experience and client relationships. As the firms integrate, share knowledge and build capacity, McAdams will thoughtfully evaluate opportunities to bring this expertise into additional markets over time.

The combination also creates opportunities for knowledge sharing across McAdams, pairing SDG’s highly specialized technical expertise with teams serving education, municipal, parks and recreation and other clients.

“Ultimately, this is about finding another way to serve our clients well,” Munn said. “Athletic facilities play an important role in schools and communities. Bringing this expertise into McAdams allows us to think more holistically about those environments and gives our clients another specialized resource to help bring them to life.”

About McAdams’ Texas Offices

For more than 30 years, McAdams’ Dallas-Fort Worth offices have served as a trusted partner across one of the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions. The firm’s DFW-based professionals deliver multidisciplinary engineering, planning, landscape architecture, transportation and surveying services, working alongside developers, municipalities, architects and institutional clients to advance transformative development and infrastructure projects that shape the future of North Texas.

About Sports Design Group

Sports Design Group is a specialized athletic facility design practice based in McKinney, Texas. Founded in 2006, SDG provides planning, design, project management and construction support for outdoor athletic, physical education and recreational facilities. The practice’s experience spans K-12, collegiate, municipal and professional sports environments.