WSU ready for summer projects
PULLMAN – Washington State’s idea for a summer renovation – new carpeting – isn’t necessarily unique. But it is on a bigger scale than your average project around the house.
WSU is in the process of laying down new turf on the Martin Stadium field, an upgraded version of FieldTurf that school officials hope will last a decade.
In 2000, the Cougars installed their first FieldTurf and got six seasons out of it before deciding to upgrade for a cost of just more than $288,000. The old turf – a plastic grass on top of ground rubber and sand – was expected to last eight years but heavy use had administrators thinking a replacement was needed sooner.
“It’s more like a grass blade,” said John David Wicker, WSU’s assistant athletic director for event and facility operations. “It’s the new top-of-the-line turf that they’ve got out there.
“We may be the first D-I school to get this on the football stadium.”
Workers with Field Turf Builders, a West Side company responsible for the installation, will need about two more weeks to finish the process, although most of the field is already in place. The old surface was removed in mid-May.
Fans coming to Martin Stadium this fall probably won’t notice much of a difference, as Wicker said the logos and end zones will match the former look.
“No blue turf, no crimson end zone,” he said.
The midfield logo and end zones will have to be painted on, at least for this year, as the installers didn’t have the proper crimson color to stitch in those designs – as is the case with sidelines and yard markers. It’s possible, Wicker said, that WSU could go back and make those changes next summer if the correct color scheme is available.
The Martin Stadium field isn’t the only part of the facility that’s in line for an upgrade, and Wicker said plans remain on track for the pending off-season renovation to the actual structure. The schematic designs for all phases of the renovation are now in hand and the school has now entered the design development process, paving the way for construction to begin shortly after the 2006 football season.
With the conclusion of the schematic design WSU has settled on 18 private luxury boxes for the north side, which will sit atop 145 indoor club seats, about 1,500 outdoor club seats and 36 loge boxes. All of that construction, as was previously planned, will take place above the current seats on that sideline.
WSU has a number of other construction projects in the works as well with its athletic facilities:
•A construction crew began removing the tennis courts this week – an academic building is planned for the space – and already crews have begun removing dirt on the former golf course’s driving range and first fairway, where the new outdoor courts will be located.
•Indoor tennis courts are also planned, as WSU has secured funding to resurface and light the Fieldhouse, which would provide the tennis team with four courts suitable for matches.
Also in the Fieldhouse, the Cougars will expand and upgrade the workroom belonging to the rowing team, fresh off of a fourth-place finish at the NCAA championships.