Construction on pace for Mooseheart stadium, field house

September will be a good month for the Mooseheart Athletic Department, after a $3 million construction project to renovate both the stadium and field house will wrap up.

The renovation, the single-largest project in terms of funding, began two days after the Batavia campus held its graduation ceremonies.

Officials at Mooseheart say the Sept. 3 and 11 deadlines for the field house and stadium, respectively, are well ahead of schedule.

The estimated date of completion, though, cannot yet be determined because of the possibility of future obstacles, including inclement weather.

"In any project, there's always a little bit of space put in that if something goes wrong or if anything happens, you don't want to be in a position where you are unsure as to when it will ever come to an end," Mooseheart spokesman Darryl Mellema said.

Mellema said the majority of projects slated for the next weeks include moving the more notable essentials into their respective areas of construction, including laying the new FieldTurf carpet on the stadium field, and installing the lockers in both male and female locker rooms.

"It's essentially like we're building a car. One wouldn't note that significant progress has been made until, let's say, we put in the engine or the top of the car," he said.

"These smaller projects that prepare us to move these bigger essentials in, though, are equally important. Just like a car, in that if everything inside does not work properly, then it isn't a car," Mellema added.