Master Plan to Enhance The National Shooting Complex Facilities for the 40,000 NSSA Members

Everyone knows not to mess with Texas. Yet, Jim Davidson and I never shy away from a good challenge. Case in point, we have been providing pro-bono planning and design expertise for the National Shooting Complex (NSC) located in Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas for the past few years. The 671 acre site is the home of the National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA, founded 1928) and the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA, founded 1989). The NSC hosts the shooting-sports’ most prestigious annual competitions, including the NSCA National Championships and the World Skeet Championships (World Shoot), celebrating their 75th anniversary Shoot at the October, 2010 event.

The NSC-held competitions are supported by all of the major national and international firearms and shooting equipment manufacturers, who typically are on-site for the Shoots, offering merchandise, repair, instruction and expert advice and recommendations. The World Shoots draw competitors from many countries around the world, including Australia, South Africa, England, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Argentina. Any given Shoot can have thousands of competitors, spectators and sporting aficionados all in attendance.

Jim and his wife and partner, Sherry Davidson, are both competitive shooters and life members of the NSSA. Jim was recruited in 2007 by the NSC Long Range Planning Committee, directed by Ms. Louise K. Terry, past president of the NSSA. Jim was asked to provide counsel when they were contemplating a land purchase offer that would have required them to move. Subsequently, another offer was made to the NSC to locate the American headquarters of a German gun maker on the property. In the fall of 2009, Jim and I visited the NSC to fully examine those proposals and to illustrate the opportunities afforded the NSC, the NSSA and the NSCA should they decide to stay put and continue operating on their well-located and beautiful property.

Our site inspection was the pebble-in-the-pond that rippled out to create enthusiasm, support, funding and anticipation for a thoroughly rejuvenated and revitalized National Shooting facility commensurate with its role as the national center for the shooting sports in America. In February, 2010, Jim and I presented a comprehensive inventory of all existing conditions, coupled with a Schematic Master Plan for the entire acreage and its core service area. Our work identified eight specific groupings of elements for renovation, expansion and optimization – including programming ideas for growing the NSSA and NSCA memberships, enticing the recreational shooter to increase participation and launching a new National Shooting Club and National Shooting Academy to be headquartered in new, Texas Hillcountry-architecturally inspired buildings.

We selected a local engineering company, CDS/Muery Services to work with the San Antonio, nationally recognized and awarded, architectural firm of Lake/Flato Architects to further advance the eight elements of our Schematic Master Plan. Currently the architectural and engineering team is preparing a conceptual design, detail and pricing effort to be presented in January, 2011 to the NSC Board of Directors.

Jim and I now serve as active members of Ms. Terry’s NSC Master Plan Implementation Steering Committee and continue our contributions to guide the NSC towards a bright and successful future.