Time is flying by with the construction of the ETSU football stadium.
Flashback to March 18, 2015, when the ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics hosted a press conference on the location of the stadium.
Flashback to Nov. 16, 2015 near the Basler Center for Physical Activity, where the athletics department and other university officials broke ground for the new football stadium.
Now it is the start of summer 2016, and the football field is almost a year from being finished. It is predicted to be complete by the fall 2017 season.
“All of this is the initial construction of the stadium,” said Scott Carter, senior associate athletic director. “There is a large situation that takes place with taking initial construction.”
A few things have been moved or relocated: the recycling center, the chemical storage center, the salt storage for cold weather and ice, the fence equipment storage area and the Basler challenge course.
As for the site preparation, the building pad for the sky box has been completed, and shaping, sewer, electricity, water line, transformer instillation for power and more are currently being worked on.
“Everything right now is right on schedule,” Carter said. “We’ve been very fortunate with the weather; things are going great. I talk regularly with Thomas Construction, who is handling this initial stage of construction, and BurWil, our construction manager for the entirety of the stadium project.”
Funding for the stadium continues to climb as $12 million (45 percent) has been raised by Leadership Investments, $8.2 million (31 percent) by Student Fee Bond, $4.04 million (15 percent) by Premium Seat Bond, $1.65 million (6 percent) by Corporate Marketing Bond and $725,000 (3 percent) by Premium Seat Gifts.
Carter said the students and athletic department have had a huge impact on the birth of the stadium.
He added that sky boxes are sold out, club seats are headed that way and the athletics department continues to have meetings across the region with people who are excited about the birth of the stadium.
“It’s a daily process that we are very aggressive toward, and we are working really hard to make sure this stadium gets completed,” Carter said.
With the stadium set to be ready for the 2017 season, Carter, the athletics department and others continue to push forward and meet goals.
“Right now, we are on schedule,” Carter said. “Things are going really well, and we hope to have most of the site preparation completed this summer.”
