On the morning of Jan. 7, out went the old at Oregon State University.
Before the dust had even begun to settle, the work of bringing in the new began, and after a month’s work, things are looking pretty good over at Reser Stadium.
Scott Barnes, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at OSU, said, “After demolition, a couple of hours later, they started to remove the rubble. So they made great progress there. We’ll move on from concrete pouring here in February to steel erection in May. In-between footings and more concrete, so far so good.”
Barnes said that OSU had set a goal of raising $85 million to support the renovation project, but with an anonymous donation of $50 million, the total donations were now close to $92 million. The total cost of renovations is currently projected to cost $153 million.
“You know, it’s one thing to talk about a construction project, but when you are actually digging dirt and you have all the activity we have, it’s created quite a buzz and really gives us the opportunity to tell our story,” Barnes said of the donations.
Even while the site was nothing but rubble, it wasn’t going to waste; the Region 3 K-9 Search & Rescue team used it as a training ground for their search dogs.
Fans can expect the renovation project to be completed in the summer of 2023.
By: John M. Burt
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