DeWitt selected for multimillion-dollar MSU contract

The Missouri State University Board of Governors yesterday awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Springfield construction firm DeWitt & Associates Inc.

DeWitt submitted the lowest bid, $21.8 million, for improvements to athletic and recreations fields on MSU's Springfield campus. The total project budget is $25.1 million, according to a news release.

Funding for the project comes from the Bear Experience and Recreation fee passed by the university's student body during an Oct. 14-18 online vote. The $50 per semester fee will generate about $1.6 million annually, with $1.4 million to be used to make payments on $20 million in bonds to fund construction of projects including:

• a new east-side complex at Plaster Sports Complex, which would remove existing seating and replace it with a new 4,000-seat structure, relocate the existing football field and build a new game-day meeting room and visitor's locker room;
• the upgrade of an existing field north of Glass Hall into a NCAA regulation soccer field surrounded by a new synthetic track, as well as a 1,000-seat grandstand with restrooms, locker rooms and a press box;
• a new field hockey and lacrosse team field north of Hammons Student Center, including a small grandstand, restrooms and a press box; and
• sand volleyball courts at the southwest corner of Hammons Student Center.

Roughly $200,000 per year is earmarked for a student experience fund to enhance athletic activities on campus.

“We are able to take this step because of our students,” MSU President Clif Smart said in the release. “They had the vision, they took the initiative and they approved a fee that will cover the vast majority of this work.

"From a university standpoint, I think these facilities can be a game changer for how the university is viewed, in its appeal to students, and for the success of our students and athletic teams."