SPRINGDALE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) broke ground today on the UAMS Health Orthopaedics & Sports Performance Center in Springdale.

The 115,000-square-foot center will be located in the four-mile stretch of I-49 on the city’s west side, commonly known as the Springdale Care Corridor, which includes a dozen health care providers.

For several years now, an interdisciplinary team of highly trained surgeons and rehab specialists has been providing specialty care at UAMS orthopaedics and sports medicine clinics in Fayetteville and Lowell, as well as serving as the official sports medicine provider for all of the University of Arkansas Razorback athletic programs.

The new facility will be the home for all UAMS Health orthopaedic clinics in Northwest Arkansas, as well as sports performance, therapy, and MRI. It will include 20 exam rooms, up to six operating rooms and eight outpatient recovery beds where patients can stay up to 23 hours if needed.

Completion of the UAMS Health Orthopaedics & Sports Performance Center is expected in 2025. The world-renowned Marlon Blackwell Architects designed the two-story building with input from Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects, P.C., who guided the design process from a health care perspective to ensure that all regulatory requirements and industry standards were met. Nabholz Construction is the general contractor.

Wes Cox, M.D., section chief of UAMS Health’s orthopaedics and sports medicine team in Northwest Arkansas, has a strong vision for the new center, stressing that it will be more than a building — “it will be a whole new patient experience.”

“The UAMS Health Orthopaedics & Sports Performance Center will be unique,” Cox said. “We worked closely with the architects to create a health care space that is both welcoming and health-inducing. Our mission is to serve the community in Northwest Arkansas with a world-class, iconic destination for sports medicine and orthopaedics by elevating expectations through innovations and healing.”

From the beautiful, winding drive to plant-filled atriums and rooms imbued with natural light, the atmosphere will be open and inviting. An overall ambiance of wellness will aid in a natural and therapeutic healing process or performance-improvement process, all guided by an interdisciplinary team of rehab and performance experts.

This innovative surgical facility will accommodate patients’ needs for advanced orthopaedic surgical technology, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation. Designed with a focus on wellness, recovery and healing, the facility will offer a wide range of orthopaedic procedures, allowing for more personalized, efficient and effective care from Arkansas’ largest fellowship-trained orthopaedic team.

According to UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, the center’s goal is to serve patients in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.

“I suspect we will see patients from all over the country come to Northwest Arkansas to get their care here,” Patterson said. “Our orthopaedic and sports medicine specialists are already highly regarded nationally and internationally. With an abundance of destination health care providers, this reputation will continue to grow.”

“This facility will be an invaluable addition to Northwest Arkansas,” said Amy Wenger, MHSA, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. “The center will be much more than a destination for sports care. It will be a destination for everyone to receive comprehensive, high-quality and cost-efficient subspecialty orthopaedic care, including joint replacement, spine care, hand care, foot and ankle care, and more.”

The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus includes 329 medical, pharmacy, nursing and health professions students, 66 medical and pharmacy residents, and two sports medicine fellows. The campus has nine clinics including a student-led clinic, orthopaedics and sports medicine, and physical, occupational and speech therapy. Faculty conduct research to reduce health disparities.