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Board pauses stadium project planning after field house cost estimates spike
Summary
Board members pressed the district's consultant on why recent field-house estimates rose sharply and directed staff to revisit assumptions and return with tighter costs within weeks.
District consultants presented updated cost estimates for the proposed stadium and athletic fields, prompting board members to pause further action and ask for a detailed review after seeing unexpected cost increases.
Board members cited a January estimate for a single field house of about $1,000,800 that rose to $3,767,400 in a May update. The consultant said the earlier figure used a conceptual $250 per-square-foot assumption, while the later estimate used a roughly $480 per-square-foot figure drawn from a recent, high-priced bid in another district. The field-house footprint was described as roughly 3,900 square feet each.
Directors said the magnitude of the change—alongside other line-item increases—created high implementation risk and could exhaust available bond and reserve funding. One board member asked the district to contact bond brokers and to “put it in reverse” on committing to construction until numbers were validated.
The board directed the project team to: (1) reexamine square-foot assumptions and material/finish choices; (2) produce line-by-line “additive” options (baseline vs. optional upgrades) so the board can choose scope reductions; and (3) return with revised, tighter estimates in roughly two to three weeks. The board also asked staff to schedule a facilities subcommittee meeting the week of June 3 to review the revised estimates before any June board action.
Status: Discussion/direction. No construction contract or final design was approved; the consultant said halting the schedule would likely impact an early-fall construction start possibility.
