The athletic department has raised over $200,000, and is therefore in the process of finalizing the scope of phase two of the Scolinos Stadium Campaign with the help of university officials.
Phase two of a four-phase plan to renovate baseball’s Scolinos Field will include replacing the internal chain link fencing with netting, moving the backstop in and possibly updating the dugouts.
The project is projected to cost $300,000 to $400,000, according to athletic director Brian Swanson.
“We’re pretty close in having that amount of money in the bank per se and working with others to try and make some commitments to get to that final number,” Swanson said.
Before any construction can take place, a meeting with university administration and facilities management will take place to formalize the scope of phase two.
Swanson anticipates that to take place within the next month. Once the scope is formalized, a request for proposal will be drafted by procurement.
The RFP is an exhaustive document that lays out the final cost of the project and is sent out to potential vendors who bid to take on the project.
Once a vendor is selected, a project manager will be assigned by the university and planning for construction can commence.
The department has been raising money for Phase two through fundraisers and individual donor pledges.
Former associate athletic director for development Paul Bubb had been facilitating donations and connecting with potential donors until his departure in December of last year to take a position at Western Illinois University as Executive Director of Development.
According to Swanson, Bubb’s departure has lessened the “day-to-day” relationships with individual donors.
“Anytime someone leaves, you lose a little momentum,” Swanson said.
“[But] it doesn’t mean that we haven’t continued to try to develop relationships.”
Currently, fundraising is over $200,000 with other sources available to add to that, including the baseball account and general facility money according to Swanson.
“I feel like we can close the gap if there’s [a] gap to be closed once we know where we’re at based on what we have in the bank now and what we think may be the eventual cost of phase two,” Swanson said.
Because of the poor state of the chain link fencing that surrounds the field, the department considered taking that on as a sub-project separate from phase two but found that the cost of replacing the fencing with netting would warrant its own RFP.
Phase one of the project, completed in January of 2016, included installing lights at Scolinos Field and a new outfield scoreboard.
The scoreboard was initially slated for completion during phase four until a donor pledge of $20,000 allowed for that project to be added.
Phases three and four constitute the largest portions of the campaign and include installing new bleachers and backed seats, construction of a press box and permanent restrooms.
Initial projections from the department estimate the cost of phase three to be between $1.5-2 million and phase four between $2-2.5 million.
The time line for when phase two will commence is still up in the air and hinges on finding time to complete the project so as not to interfere with the baseball season.
“We haven’t determined a time frame till we know the scope, a time frame what’s best for us and then look what the vendor schedule is,” Swanson said.
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