CMU takes $650k bid for new field
CMU will pay $650,000 to build a new venue for the field hockey team after accepting a bid from FieldTurf, the company also installing a new surface in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Construction on the new field should begin in mid-July and be finished by Sept. 13, said Thomas Trionfi, director of purchasing. The field hockey season begins Sept. 24.
“That gives us a couple of weeks of leeway,” he said.
FieldTurf was one of two bids received by the university. Pro Grass offered a bid of $450,000 but failed certification from the International Hockey Federation, which determines if a field is acceptable for international championships and competitions. Trionfi previously said Athletics Director Herb Deromedi and Field Hockey coach Cristy Freese “believe it is a necessary certification.” He also said Pro Grass seemed “aloof” in dealing with CMU, seemingly not interested in the contract.
FieldTurf’s original bid was $751,000, which Trionfi said, it was knocked down because of negotiations with the company. Also, the price of the field was lowered because it will be a tacked-down surface, not glued down, which Trionfi said has no affect on the quality of the field.
“We were able to get a better price because the athletics department ... worked with us to come up with another way to get the price of the field down,” he said. “The fact that the athletics department was able to look at another option helped bring the price down.”
Deromedi said he talked with other schools who also have tacked-down surfaces and determined it was a quality venue.
“We don’t anticipate any problems,” he said. “We wanted to work through the process to make sure we provided a field but also a safe and quality field.”
Deromedi said the field hockey program deserves the opportunity to play on their own field which he said is “their laboratory; it becomes their stage of performance.”
“This is where they establish leadership qualities, they are able to find themselves and go through adversity, and sometimes those things serve them well — long after their last semester of competition,” he said. “They deserve it. They have had a long history at CMU and they deserve this opportunity.”
FieldTurf also will paint the lines on the field for the first two years for no additional charge.
Of the money allotted for the field, $296,000 is from previously approved money for the replacement of the Kelly/Shorts Stadium turf. The remaining cost — $354,000 — is being loaned to the athletics department from the capital projects reserve fund. The loaned money must be paid back during the next five years.
The Board of Trustees had previously approved $751,000 to build the field hockey venue.
CMU is paying FieldTurf $639,000 to replace the turf in Kelly/Shorts.
