If you think the players are hustling at the Brady Street Stadium game Thursday night, you should have seen the crews scramble to get the stadium finished earlier in the week.

While Valley Construction and subcontractor crews put the finishing touches on the stadium Wednesday, Davenport School District Operations Director Mike Maloney remained confident that the newly refurbished stadium will be ready to wow the crowds when high school football kicks off this week.

“This is the kind of project where we can’t start until track season is over and we’re expected to be finished before football season starts. So in a very narrow window, we’ve got to do a lot of work that takes more time than actually was available,” he said Wednesday.

“So there’s been overtime involved … in getting this up and ready for the first game of the season (Thursday) night,” Maloney said.

The artificial turf has been replaced, the track has been expanded from six to eight lanes and the long-jump pits have new covers that are uniform and less of a trip hazard.

Crews put sand and crumb-rubber infill in the grass strands. Additionally, construction continues on the improving the west side facade of the stadium, and that should be finished in a couple of months, Maloney said.

Athletic directors have a good operational plan funneling spectators into the stands and teams on to the field, he said.

Seating for the Thursday and Friday games will be on the east side only, Maloney said. Entrance will be from the south parking lot or the 36th Street ticket booth area, he said.

“The old stadium was at the end of its useful life,” Maloney said. “It was a little over 10 years old, and that is about the expected life for these fields.

“Having the track expanded from six to eight lanes allows us to host regional competitions, and that’s important to our track folks,” he said.

The whole $2.6 million project, including the field, the track and the facade work, will be paid for from the SAVE Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) fund, the one cent statewide penny tax, Maloney said.

The first game of the season will be Davenport Central High School vs. Muscatine High School. Sophomores take the field at 5:30, and varsity squads kick off at 7:15 p.m.

Maloney says that people will be most impressed when they see the new look of the west side.

The attractive look might add another perspective, said Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski.

If the renovation's new look garners attention from parents and students, "Hopefully it attracts more kids to get involved,” he said.

 

Source: qctimes

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