WESTON Mo. — Crews with JE Dunn Construction put the finishing touches on Phase I of West Platte’s multi-million dollar capital improvement project earlier this past week.
Now a new FieldTurf surface sits just north of historic Rudolph Eskridge Stadium awaiting its first football action. The new all-weather, eight-lane track surrounding the new green artificial turf will be ready for athletes to compete in the spring track and field season.
“Normally we would build from the top down,” JE Dunn Construction superintendent Dale Duncan said. “But, with the needs of the district to want to host athletics on site, we had to build it the other way, which we were happy to accommodate.”
The $1.7 million dollar stadium structure is part of a $7 million dollar master plan that includes moving the West Platte School District Central office adjacent to the new stadium the construction of a new press box, locker rooms and concession stand, expanding the parking area at the elementary school, construction of a dedicated maintenance building and expansion and renovations to the high school.
Work began on the project in June of this year.
“I think it looks really good,” West Platte superintendent John Rinehart said. “It’s a nice setting with the bluffs in the background and it’s a really nice spot.”
The construction is moving ahead on schedule, according to Rinehart, thanks to the mild and generally dry fall weather in the area.
The new stadium is Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant with easier access from the parking lot level. To accommodate the stadium, the existing hill was cut back and the bleachers built into the created space, maintaining the amphitheater feel of Rudolph Eskridge Stadium, which sits just to the south.
The track replaces the old four-lane setup that used to run around the football team’s practice field, which was located on the site of the new stadium.