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MU Awards Contract for Soccer Complex

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By JAMES E. CASTO

For the State Journal

HUNTINGTON -- Marshall University has awarded a Hurricane company, MIRC Construction Services LLC, a contract for building the school's new Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.

According to Marshall Chief of Staff Matt Turner, MIRC was awarded the $5.882 million contract even though its bid was slightly higher than university officials had expected. Turner said the board felt it was better to accept the bid rather than ask for a new round of bids and risk their coming in even higher.

The soccer complex is to be built at 5th Avenue and 26th Street, the site of the former Veterans Memorial Field House, which was demolished this summer to make way for the new project.

The new complex will be about 12,000 square feet, with a synthetic turf field, a 500-square foot press box, about 1,000 seats and a 47-space parking lot. The facility will include coaches' offices for both men's and women's programs, locker rooms, a concession area and ticket offices.

Construction is expected to start in two weeks and be completed by Aug. 1, 2013, in time for next year's soccer season.

The soccer complex is the first part of a $30 million athletic facilities project that, when fully completed, will include an indoor practice facility, which will have an indoor track, an athletics hall of fame, an academic support center and a sports medicine  research center.

Marshall President Stephen J. Kopp has said MU's facilities will rank among the best in Conference USA once construction is completed on the soccer complex and the indoor practice facility. The soccer complex, in particular, will benefit more than just Marshall, he said.

"The new soccer complex will serve not only Marshall's men's and women's soccer programs but our community as well," Kopp said. "The rising competitiveness of both our men's and women's soccer teams will benefit greatly from this state-of-the-art facility. It's easy to foresee the benefit of this facility with respect to future student-athlete recruitment as well as greater competitive successes on the playing surface."

The design firm for the project is AECOM Technical Services of Kansas City, Mo.