Fresh from hosting a championship football season, Houck Stadium is about to get a facelift -- or at least a tummy tuck.

Southeast Missouri State University's $59 million-plus campuswide renovation plan includes an estimated $2 million in renovations to the stadium complex, with more than a half-million dollars of the improvement budget marked for artificial turf replacement.

The project, slated to be completed before the Redhawks football and soccer teams take the field in August, includes new lights at the stadium. The work on that project has begun, according to Cindy Gannon, Southeast's associate athletic director.

"They're starting to do the prep work, with not knowing what's below that ground level," Gannon said. "All of those things can be involved when you're building on an old rock quarry."

The lights line item is $735,000, including architectural, crane services and other special equipment, said Kathy Mangels, Southeast vice president for finance and administration.

"That may seem high for lights, but because of where it's located, that brings in those special needs," she said.

A scoreboard will be installed in the northwest corner, next to the new residence hall. The estimated cost of the scoreboard is $450,000, with the possibility of adding video capability, depending on the outcome of the bids, Mangels said.

The improvement project will add air-conditioning to Houck Field House, something Gannon said is long overdue.

"Houck has never been air-conditioned. I coached there for 17 years, and I can testify to that," she said. The price tag is $342,000 and will be covered by the campus renovation deferred maintenance budget.

The turf replacement project comes more than a decade after the university installed an artificial playing surface at Houck. The field will be inlaid with the Redhawks logo, ending the need to paint the field every few years.

"When it's freshly painted, it's tough on the athletes. They slide on that, especially our soccer players," Gannon said. "This makes it a better situation."

The project, pegged at $550,000, also will be paid for out of the deferred maintenance budget. Mangels said turf has a limited life.

"It becomes a safety issue," she said. "After so many years that turf wears down."

Planning and design work are moving ahead on much of Southeast's renovation plan, three months after the university's board of regents approved a $59.25 million bond issue.

The project includes nearly $23 million in renovations for the century-old Academic Hall described by Southeast president Ken Dobbins as a "crisis waiting to happen." Another nearly $18 million is marked for upgrades and additions at Magill Hall, the university's science building. Construction also calls for deferred maintenance projects campuswide and power plant upgrades.

Mangles said design teams are gathering information from faculty and staff in the buildings, putting together a functional building plan. Employees at Academic Hall are expected to begin the transition out of the building this summer.

"There will be some moving starting this summer, but that will be based on when it's the best time for them to move," she said. "For financial aid, it's not. That's a busy time when students are applying for the fall semester."

Magill construction is expected to start in the fall semester. The work on the addition and the mechanical equipment won't require displacing classes, Mangles said.

Construction on Academic Hall tentatively is scheduled to begin around the end of the year.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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