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The Saluki Way project is making visible progress and hopes are high that Phase One will finish under budget, administrators say.
“The construction bids have generally been favorable to the university,” said Kevin Bame, vice chancellor for administration and finance. “We are hopeful that the actual project costs will be below the original budget. However, there is significant construction activity to occur.”
With walls rising from the ground and the transformation of SIU Arena taking shape, Phase One is said to be on track for its scheduled completion in July 2010. Bame said the entire Saluki Way project’s “annual operating costs have been projected and will be covered by funds generated by Intercollegiate Athletics.”
“Things are coming along well; they’re making a lot of progress on what we call the ‘Addition,’ which is where the new offices and new locker rooms will be,” Associate Athletic Director Jason King said. “They’ve also made significant progress within the inside of the arena on the upper concourse.”
Associate Athletic Director Chet Savage said in an e-mail there is favorable progress being made with fundraising. “Currently, we have raised over $7.3 million in cash and pledges and still have 330 individuals on our prospect list that we intend on meeting with and making proposals to,” he said.
King said the continuing rains and recent inland hurricane did not put them behind schedule.
“We’re not behind schedule, and the storm didn’t really affect us a whole lot because the majority of the work being done at that time was earthwork,” King said.
The project planners scheduled rain days and King said work still progresses inside the arena even if it is stalled outside. By fall, King said football fans would see continued progress each time they return throughout the season.
“By the time football season rolls around, you’re going to see a lot of things happening out there, and that’s exciting,” King said. “And there are things going on in the arena as well, [but] because it’s an enclosed facility, it’s a little bit more difficult to see.
“Everyday I go out there, new things are kind of coming out of the ground and it’s just exciting for everybody,” King said. “We’re ready to get into these facilities and I think that it’s going to be really good for the community as well as our school that this project is moving forward.”
