KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — UPDATE 1/4/18 @ 10:58 p.m.
A multi-million dollar turf contract was awarded to Field Turf during the Kanawha County Commission meeting on Thursday.
The company will be laying one million square feet of turf at the Shawnee Park Multi-Sports Complex in Dunbar.
Commissioners say they have been in negotiations with Field Turf for about six months and were able to bring the total cost of the project down from $7 million to about $2.5 million.
The terms of the contract include a $625,000 payment upfront and another $625,000 payment when the project is nearing completion. There will then be quarterly installments paid until it’s paid in full.
The contract will cover all six soccer/lacrosse fields as well as the infields of the four baseball/softball fields with “field turf 360,” the same superior turf that is used in the Atlanta United and Atlanta Falcons stadiums.
Awarding the contract to Field Turf means a grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation was turned down.
Commissioner Ben Salango says if they had taken the $134,000 grant they would have had to use AstroTurf, which would have cost more and been less superior.
Another addition to the sports complex: a building in between the four baseball/softball fields.
The $500,000 project was also approved by commissioners during their meeting on Thursday.
The building will have concession stands that will be open to all four fields and above that there will be a press box that is also open to all four fields to allow for separate announcers for different games.
UPDATE 11/2/17 @ 8:24 p.m.
The Shawnee Park Multi-Sports Complex could be getting another boost in funding.
During a meeting on Thursday, Kanawha County Commissioners announced that a grant worth $134,000 from the U.S. Soccer Foundation will likely be awarded to the project.
Commissioner Ben Salango says a formal letter of approval is expected in December.
The money will go toward covering turf costs for the new fields.
The grant announcement follows a $1 million donation made by the Brick Street Foundation in October.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper says that donation is the largest cash donation in the commission’s history.
During Thursday’s meeting, commissioners also approved a bidding schedule for the multi-sports complex project.
Bids will be advertised in mid-November.
And the bid date is scheduled for the beginning of December.
Commissioners are hoping to break ground by the end of this year and have the full project complete by July 2018.
To date, the Kanwaha County Building Commission has held 27 public meetings regarding the multi-sports complex.
The Brick Street Foundation has announced they will donate $1 million to Shawnee Park for the construction of the multi-sports complex.
The announcement was made Tuesday during a special Kanawha County Commission meeting.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper says this is the largest cash donation in the commission’s history.
Work has already started at Shawnee to prepare for the construction of the sports complex.
On Monday, the irrigation system at the golf course was shut off to allow the soils to dry naturally, saving money during the construction phase of the complex.
The back half of the playing surface of hole numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 were also removed Monday. The sod from those holes will be taken to Big Bend and Coonskin golf courses to repair the greens.