March 28, 2024

Bid approved for high school athletic complex renovation

Shock pad for field included in project

The bid for the construction of the high school athletic complex renovation was awarded to Boyd Construction during the Monday school board meeting. Coming in at $3.29 million, the bid includes synthetic turf, a half inch shock pad and additional draining, along with the base bid pieces such as the press box, bleacher replacements, video board and plaza additions.

“We appreciate the opportunity,” Boyd Construction owner Matt Boyd said. “This will be our third field in the past four years. We’ve done Osceola Clark schools just last year. I understand the process pretty well. This looks like a great project, it has been put together really nice. I think it will show really well.”

The board decided to move forward with the shock pad option at $125,000 for several reasons including increased safety for the athletes and an extended life of the turf.

“In a sport such as football, soccer, where you are going to be running, touching, jumping … in general, these pads allow for the mitigation of injuries,” Brent Strauch, civil engineer with Shive-Hattery, said. “I would say there is really not a negative to the pad.”

The project includes the new synthetic turf featuring crimson end zones with gold lettering and the Mustang logo at the center of the field. The athletes will have a grand entrance to the field by walking through the new plaza on the top side of the complex, which features landscaping, lights, trees and plants from the locker rooms to the west stairway system down to the track.

The press box will be replaced with a new building that features PCM Mustang signage and a new 655 seat bleacher system, up from 519 seats in the existing bleachers, will be installed on the home side.

There will also be six ADA (American with Disabilities Act) seats with companion seats available at the top of the bleachers. The restrooms added in the press box will also have ADA accessibility.

A new video scoreboard will be positioned in the same general area and be placed so each set of fans can easily view the content. The visitors’ bleachers will be replaced with new a new 250 seat set.

The restoration that kicked off the project, the track surface, will be replaced with a new, eight-lane oval. Elevation issues will be addressed under the track to ensure it is properly constructed for athletes’ use.

Inline drains, tiles and rock to compete with the stormwater along with additional drains under the bleachers will accommodate most of the water coming down the hill or that is already on the hill.

The system will also work to keep any water at the top of the hill at that elevation by routing it underground to a small drain in the area. The field will also have a drainage system to accommodate the weather.

An area that is not a part of the bid is the sidewalk currently running behind the concession stand. Currently, the sidewalk does not meet ADA code but to fix the issue would be an additional $128,000 cost.

“These other things that are add ons, additions, could be dealt with at a later date as the dollars come in,” Nicole said. “You could add those pieces down the road.”

The board did decide to add on the ACO Drainage System at a cost of $9,600. The system keeps the water built up on the track from draining on the field. Instead, it will drain in between the track and the field.

The project is set to take about 10 weeks to complete and take place throughout the summer. The work is expected to be completed prior to the start of the fall football season, but a little leeway has also been discussed should weather occurrences push the schedule.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com