A variety of options are on the table for the 2019 Marysville football season. Construction crews say the stadium project is behind schedule, but officials hope that with some luck, it will be ready for the Aug. 30 home opener. The district is looking at potential other plans if the stadium is not ready.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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With the first home football game set for Aug. 30 and a stadium project that is several weeks behind schedule, Marysville district officials aren’t ready to abandon ship just yet, but they are definitely locating the lifeboats.
Two weeks of bone dry weather have apparently not helped the situation as project foremen have now reported that the project is five weeks behind its scheduled opening date of Aug. 15. In June, district officials said the project was three weeks behind schedule.
Marysville Assistant Superintendent Jonathan Langhals said construction crews remain hopeful that weekend work, dry weather and a little luck could allow the project to be completed in time for the first game. Langhals said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the project can pick up speed and finish on time.
“Things would have to go just right for that to happen,” he said.
With that in mind, the district appears to be preparing for the possibility of playing the first game or two at a neutral site. The backup plan also appears to be settling on Friday night games, after toying with the idea of moving games to Saturdays.
Marysville is scheduled to open the season at home against Northland and host Delaware the following week.
Langhals said district officials have had negotiations with a handful of Columbus-area schools that open the grid season on the road. The assistant superintendent would not name the schools that have been contacted and also offered no information about a cost breakdown for such a move. Other details, such as who would operate concessions and supply volunteers, were also not provided.
“In the end, both schools need to be on the same page,” Langhals said.
When the district might pull the trigger on moving the opening game, also remains among the unanswered questions. Langhals said the district wants to give the project every opportunity to make up ground with more than six weeks to go until the home opener.
He would only commit that the decision would be made some time in August and the public will be made aware.
“If needed, Plan B will be executed and communicated,” Langhals said.
As construction crews rush to finish the high school project as quickly as possible, district officials are also working behind the scenes to host games as soon as possible. Langhals said the district is making inquiries about using the facility with a temporary occupancy permit, the would allow for games, even before the facility is completely finished.
A series of events have put the multi-million-dollar project behind schedule. Initial bids came in higher than expected, forcing the project to go through a hurried second bidding phase. Langhals said the project also experienced delays in getting needed permits from the county engineer, before the soggy spring weather drove yet another speedbump in the stadium timeline.
Despite the uphill climb ahead, construction crews aren’t giving up on the deadline and have recently completed some big milestones in the project. According to Langhals, the stadium lighting is in place, support structures for the home bleachers have been set, steel for the bleachers has been delivered and conduit for the wiring is in place. Crews are also making progress on two new buildings which are part of the project, he said.
Those paying attention might have also noticed that the gigantic scoreboard installed on the south end of the stadium is much closer to the home stands than it appeared in earlier renderings. Langhals said this was done at the recommendation of the scoreboard company to give the home fans a better view of the structure.
Langhals said a compaction test was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and if ground is ready, crews will begin installing drainage and gravel which are the last steps before the installation of the turf field can begin. Setting the bleachers for the visitor and student sections should not be as time consuming as other portions of the project.
The completion date for the adjoining track facility, east of the football stadium, is set for later in the fall, and will not be needed until next spring.
A third leg of the project, involving the creation of a football and track facility at Bunsold Middle School, is also behind schedule. Though the artificial turf field is in place, the track surrounding the field will not be finished, meaning the field won’t be accessible for the start of the season.
Construction crews will begin putting the asphalt base for the track down soon, but the material must cure for nearly a month before the actual track surface can be installed. Langhals said the tentative completion date for the middle school facility is now set at Sept. 12.
A backup plan for the impacted middle school sports is also being finalized.