The football-crazy town of Massillon, Ohio, where NFL Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown once taught and coached high school football, now boasts an indoor athletic training facility that is larger and more modern than the one used by the National Football League's Cleveland Browns.

Tax payers are not on the hook for Massillon High School’s new $3 million, 80,000 sq. ft. Paul L. David Athletic Training Center. It was instead privately funded by the Paul & Carol David Foundation. Paul David was a student and long-time friend of the legendary Paul Brown.

The design/build project used more than 22,000 sq. ft. of Metl-Span CF-36 Architectural Flat insulated metal wall panels. The 2” panels were finished in Cool Parchment on the exterior and Polar White on the interior. The panels were installed horizontally by the general contractor, Schumacher Construction Company, Massillon.

“The horizontal application isn’t typical for a metal building,” said Kim Schumacher, president. “Our customer didn’t like the appearance of the usual vertical ribbed panel with blanket insulation. The Metl-Span composite panels provided the look and the durability we wanted.”

The building is 68’ 8” at the ridge and 34’ 4” at the eaves and is used for all types of field sports and physical education including football, baseball, track, golf and marching band. “The durability of the panels was important,” said Schumacher. “We weren’t concerned about footballs hitting the walls but we do have netting that comes down as needed to protect against the impact of baseballs.”

The project used Varco Pruden Buildings’ continuous truss metal building framing system and features large amounts of glass to provide natural lighting, coupled with indirect lighting to avoid glare.

The Metl-Span panels were installed above a 16’ masonry wainscot.

“Everyone is thrilled with the appearance,” according to Schumacher.