UL facility awaits building

UL facility awaits building

UL facility awaits building

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

Activity will grind to a virtual halt for the next month and a half at the site of UL’s under-construction athletic indoor practice facility.
The foundation has been completed and the sub-surface has been poured in the basketball practice annex, and the next major step won’t come until the arrival of the building itself.

That, according to UL physical plant director Bill Crist, probably won’t happen until late November.

"The first two sets of shop drawings were turned back and not approved by the architects," Crist said. "The third set was approved a couple of weeks ago."
Southern Structures of Youngsville is in charge of the pre-fabrication of the building, one which will be delivered to the job site near the Reinhardt Drive-Cajundome Boulevard intersection ready for placing and assembly.

Crist said that because of the delays with the shop drawings, no definite date has been set for the arrival of the building. He estimated a minimum of six weeks before any deliveries to the site, at which time assembly will begin.

"It’s like a big Erector set," Crist said. "When it arrives they start piecing it together. Once it gets here, it should come together pretty quickly.

"It’s so big that it’ll take a while to put together, but it’s mostly just bolting and welding together."

The original Jan. 1 target date for completion of the building won’t be hit, but Crist said the contractors have indicated the building should still be ready for occupation during January. UL’s spring football practice is tentatively scheduled to begin in March, but UL’s basketball team and spring sports teams would be able to use the facility immediately upon completion.

M. D. Descant, Inc., is the contractor for the facility.

The footings for the perimeter of the approximately 130-yard by 60-yard building were completed last week, and concrete was poured for the basketball floor area on Thursday.

Athletic Network Note: For pictures of the pour, click on the "Pictures of Historical Pour of Athletic Indoor Practice Facility" which was posted on October 5, 2006 in the AN News.