The LSU Athletic Department has been busy with construction projects the past five years: Tiger Stadium, new Alex Box Stadium, new Tiger Park and the PMAC.
Bernie Moore Stadium and Carl Maddox Field House may be next in line for renovation.
The Athletic Department is looking into resurfacing the Moore Stadium and Maddox Field House tracks, said Mark Ewing, senior associate athletic director.
The Moore Stadium track was most recently resurfaced in 1999, and Maddox Field House track has not been renovated since 1987.
“Track surfaces last about 10 years, and it’s been about that long since we’ve done it,” Ewing said.
Ewing said most of the talks about resurfacing the stadiums are “very preliminary” at this stage.
He said money left over from the new basketball practice facility project may be used for the track resurfacing project.
“We’ve got to see the best use for the money,” Ewing said.
LSU coach Dennis Shaver said he has no idea of a possible start date for the project.
“As much as I’ve asked what the start date is and the date of which they approximately want to have it done, no one can give me that answer,” Shaver said. “I just really don’t know at this point what their plan is.”
Ewing said the Athletic Department is looking into renovating both the indoor and outdoor stadiums but doesn’t think there will be enough money to resurface both tracks.
“If for so many dollars more we can take care of both issues, the indoor and the outdoor, then we may look to see if there’s an opportunity to do both,” Ewing said. “Right now we’ve just got to know what that price tag is.”
Ewing said the Athletic Department’s original plan was to resurface Bernie Moore Stadium.
“Our original thing was to do the outdoor [stadium] because it’s about 10 years old,” Ewing said. “[Coach Shaver] has indicated he has wanted to do something with the indoor [stadium], but we’ve got to look at what’s best once we get these planning people started.”
Ewing said the length of the project, once started, will depend on the quality of the surface underneath the track.
“If they get down there and they see the subsurface isn’t as good as they expected, it may entail more repair work before they put the track on top,” Ewing said. “It’s all going to depend on how deep we go.”
Ewing said the Athletic Department won’t have a timetable for the project until they receive an estimate.
“That’s something they’ll be able to tell us at the end of this part of the project,” Ewing said. “Whether they come back with us in a month or two, I don’t know … I know they’ve been in contact with some of the companies who do the surfacing.”
—-Contact Robert Stewart [email protected]