School Board Tables Proposal to Convert Practice Fields into Competition Fields

A vote to overhaul 's practice fields was put off by the school board Monday, which could mean outdoor facilities at the new school won’t be available for spring sports in 2012.

The board plans to take up the issue again at its next meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. on Oct. 17.

The proposal, which would transform practice fields into suitable competition venues for Ankeny athletics, would involve adding lighting, scoreboards and seating areas to the existing football, baseball and softball fields at , 1155 S.W. Cherry St.

The cost of the project, including alternates, would be about $3.5 million. Two alternates are included in the project; the first is for the construction of grandstands and press box for the football stadium, with a seating capacity of 750, at a cost of $687,000.

Construction of a ticket booth, with a gate entrance and a concrete walkway is the second alternate, estimated at a cost of $49,000.

Construction of a team building, with a changing area and team restrooms, and a storage area for site maintenance equipment is part of the project, as well. The design allows for expansion of the building to include shower facilities in the changing area, as well as enlarging the seating capacity of the grandstands.

“We preserve the option to expand the site further if the district ever wanted to have varsity football here,” said Tom Penney, the senior principal with the DRL Group, who’s responsible for the design.

With a seating capacity of 750, the proposed stadium would be too small to host varsity football games. Matthew Wendt, Ankeny’s superintendent, said that a seating capacity of 5,000, with 4,000 seats for home fans, would be required for varsity games.

Work is under way on the fields, and school officials expect the track to be complete this week. Last week sod was laid for both baseball and softball fields.

Still, even if construction on the grandstands and the press box begins this fall, school officials are uncertain if the project will be completed in time for spring 2012 sporting events. District financial officer Craig Hansel expressed concern about the timeline to board members Monday night.

“We have effectively lost our entire fall construction season, it will get colder in a hurry,” Hansel said. “It may be realistic that you’re not going to have competition facilities next spring, it's very contractor dependent.”

Hansel told the board that it would a couple of weeks to get contracts signed for the project and get the contractors onsite, and with winter fast approaching, there would be a limit to how much work the contractor would be able to finish before the ground froze, halting the project until spring.

“From my perspective we’re at the end of the construction season,” Hansel said.

Board President George Tracy asked school officials if they had a plan B in place in case competition facilities aren’t ready in the spring.

“There’s no problem using existing facilities next spring, is that correct?” Tracy asked.

“There’s nothing to suggest that the doubling of athletic activities can’t happen,” Wendt said. “We can continue to move forward with what we have."