September 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chris Baker
(805) 756-7188
baker@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Groundbreaking Celebration Set for Sept. 10

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly will celebrate the start of renovation work at Alex G. Spanos Stadium with a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The public is invited to the event which will officially launch construction of the project’s first phase – new seating on west side of the stadium. The celebration will take place on the O’Neill Green adjacent to the north end of the stadium.

Cal Poly has awarded the construction contract to Maino Construction of San Luis Obispo. Work on the project is expected to take one year, with completion anticipated in August 2006.

The first phase will expand available seating by 1,500 seats. When the first phase is completed, the stadium will hold a total of 10,000 fans.

The bleachers on the west side of the field have been removed. Temporary seating for fans will be constructed at the field’s north end. Construction will not interfere with the 2005 Mustang football or soccer seasons, according to project manager Perry Judd.

Vehicle and pedestrian access to the area is restricted to residents living adjacent to the stadium near the Union Pacific railroad crossing. For all others, California Boulevard through campus will be closed to through traffic. This section will remain closed for a year.

The Alex G. Spanos Stadium will be a concrete and steel-frame facility. The single-tier configuration will have bench seating, beginning four feet above the playfield surface and rising to skyboxes at 37 feet. Towers at each end (to house elevators), traditional Spanish-tile roofing and a stucco finish were designed to lend an early-California Mission flavor.

The lower concourse will house new restrooms, while the upper concourse will feature eight skybox-suites, an expanded press room, and radio and television booths. New field lighting will improve playing conditions for night games.

The base construction cost is $14.5 million. The projected total cost of the project is approximately $21.5 million.


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Editors please note: Renderings of the Alex G. Spanos Stadium are available online at http://www.facilities.calpoly.edu/campusprojects/project_news.htm.