By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Delavan-Darien School Board received an update about construction delays to the Borg Stadium project on Nov. 8. The project was scheduled to be completed in October but will now be completed next spring or summer.
The project to renovate Borg Stadium and build new tennis courts was approved by referendum. Construction began last spring with a target completion date of mid-October. Supply chain issues have pushed the project past that date, according to Ben Templin, Executive Vice President of Scherrer Construction, and Scott Groholski, Owner and President of Point of Beginning, the project designer.
Templin said supply chain issues are impacting construction projects everywhere, not just in Delavan. He said the Delavan project has actually been lucky because much of the ordering and work was completed before many of the supply issues started to impact projects. Projects yet to be completed in the coming year will be impacted even more.
Groholski said one example of the supply problem is the polyurethane surface for the new track. He said everyone who ordered it for this construction season has pushed it back to next year. He also said many companies have increased prices by ten to twenty percent as a result of the supply issue, though he said there have not been those kinds of increases for this project. Templin said the costs for this project will not exceed the contracted amount.
The biggest issue with the stadium is the electrical system. Templin said the “guts” of the system have not arrived yet which has caused delays in other areas of the project.
There was also some miscommunication about the construction of the practice soccer field. It was supposed to be graded at a one percent pitch but ended up being two percent. That will be corrected at no additional cost to the district.
Some parts of the project should still get completed this fall, like completing the roof on the concessions building. Other things, like the track, will have to wait for spring because colder weather has arrived making those projects impossible to finish even if the needed supplies come in.
Read more coverage from the meeting in the Nov. 18 Delavan Enterprise.
