Saluki Way project making significant gains
02/24/2010 | 12:00:00 | General
Feb. 24, 2010
By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The steel support beams for the east-side stands at Southern Illinois University's new football stadium are starting to assemble, as construction crews have entered the seating phase of construction.
The formation of the stands and the pouring of concrete for the main concourses on the ground level is the segment of the process that is taking place this week. Meanwhile, crews are starting to enclose the press box and soon will begin work on the interior.
Over at the new athletic support facility, most all of the brick has been laid on the outside of the building and windows have been put in place. Drywall is starting to go up on the inside, as the various offices and locker rooms are coming together.
Then the final part of Saluki Way resumed inside the SIU Arena on Wednesday. With the home schedules for men's and women's basketball complete, crews began removing the old seats and bleachers.
The gutting of the arena will make way for new permanent upper bowl and the entire retrofitted arena will contain over 4,800 chairback seats, an increase of 1,200 over its existing configuration. Over the course of the offseason, the SIU Arena will also be getting a new jumbotron with video capabilities.
