The expected date of completion for the Libla Family Sports Complex has been pushed to April 2018 from an original goal of Oct. 1. The news came at the monthly Three Rivers College Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday. Because of the change, Raiders basketball likely will not take place in the new arena until the 2018-19 season.
The update was provided by architect Mike Pollard of Dille Traxel, who said "there is no path to get this project completed by Oct. 1."
Pollard said Huffman Construction should be finished building around Feb. 20, but additional time is needed to finish tasks inside the structure, such as floor and bleacher installation. According to Pollard, bleacher installation alone requires 1,010 man hours, which helps account for the significant extension, but he said he is hoping to have the project finished "sometime in April."
Pollard said it is safe to assume the first event to be held in the new sports complex should be commencement ceremonies in May.
TRC President Dr. Wesley Payne said the delay is not any specific entities fault. He said it was more a matter of lining out finances and completing paperwork that extended the process.
"We had a budget, the project was not coming in on that budget and it took time to redesign it to an acceptable point," Payne said.
Payne also said plans regarding the FEMA building, a construction project running in conjunction with the Libla Family Sports Complex, inadvertently took precedence in the early stages because of a hard April 19 deadline. The majority of the FEMA building is paid by government funding and not meeting deadline could result in a loss of funding.
"That no doubt impacted the (Libla Family Sports Complex) deadline," Payne said.
Parking lot updates are still in the process following a slight setback caused by last week's early afternoon downpour. Payne said sidewalks are also coming along nicely and while the majority of critical work should be finished by Aug. 7, the project will stretch out for another two months.
"All in all, they're doing good work and they're making progress. We should see some substantial completions on various parts of this soon," he said.
TRC held an on-the-go enrollment rush at the recent Run, Wag and Walk fund raiser held in Dexter last week. Currently TRC's enrollment is down just under 6 percent from this time last year.
"That is very close to our projected and budgeted enrollment," Payne said. "Just since last week, they've made up about 2 percent, so we are making progress in the right direction."
Upcoming events at TRC include the Center Stage production of The Foreigner beginning tonight at 7 p.m., through Saturday with the final show at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Foreigner will be Director Tim Thompson's final show with Center Stage. He is leaving to take a principal position in another city. TRC's second annual Day at the Ballpark will be at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, July 29, against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
Fall Concovation for TRC faculty and staff is scheduled for Aug. 7, which means the college will be closed to the public that day as everyone involved with the campus can gear up for the fall semester.
The next TRC Board of Trustees meeting will be held at noon Wednesday, Aug. 23, in the Tinnin Center board room.