Eggerss Stadium renovation project all but complete

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The massive undertaking known as the Eggerss Stadium renovation project is very close to completion.

Ahead of Friday night’s season opener against Bryan, crews spent the week putting the finishing touches on Phase IV of the project, which began four years ago. According to Van Wert City Schools Superintendent Mark Bagley, the project is about 95 percent done.

The latest and final phase was focused mainly on the south side of the historic stadium. Those who visit Eggerss Stadium will see a new entrance, a tribute paver area, a new concession stand and new band bleachers.

During a brief tour on Thursday, Bagley said the last phase has gone well.

“We knew it was going to be smoother process than Phases 1-3, which had a lot of old construction,” he explained. “The unknowns were still there…there have been things that have come up that were surprises when you’re talking about site work, but for the most part this has been an awesome phase. We’re getting the bugs worked out.”

One of the first things fans will notice is a new main entrance. Gone is the former ticket booth that was on the southwest side. The new main entrance is more central to the field itself.

“It’s a really grand entrance and with our paver project, you’re walking in with all these people that have contributed and donated,” he said. “We’re very thankful and gracious that our community supported this project with the bond issue and then we had more donations that had to happen to do it the right way.”

The usual east and north entrances will be accessible as well.

New band bleachers have been built at the south end, which frees up seating for more fans on the home side, and fans will immediately notice a new south-end concession stand.

“Instead of a tent we now have a concession stand building and restrooms,” Bagley said. “It really is a stadium that’s convenient for both visiting and home fans as far as during the game the total experience of football Friday nights.”

Something that won’t be accessible, at least for the first game, is the parking area behind the south end zone. Recent rains and other work at the site have made that area off-limits.

“It’s very muddy right now so we can’t park there as of yet,” he explained. “We’ll eventually be able to park there and it’ll be a grass lot but when we’ll be able to do that we’re not sure, so parking will be similar to what we’ve done before. It’s not ideal because we’ve lost that south end parking for the time being.”

On Thursday, crews finished work on the reserved parking area along the southwest corner of the stadium and work was underway on other minor items.

While the focus now is home football games, Bagley said plans are in the works for the stadium to serve as a multi-use facility.

“We’re really excited about what the future holds for other events too – we had a cheerleading competition here on Wednesday night, we’re looking to do reading nights on the field, we’re looking at small concerts and trying to figure out how to do those things with putting heavy materials on the field, and a movie night too,” he said. “We planned on doing that this summer but that got postponed, but (Main St. Van Wert Executive Director) Mitch Price and I talked about that and we’re going to wait until next year.”

In May of 2022, 72 percent of school district voters cast ballots in favor of a 20-year, 1.15 mill bond issue to raise $5 million for the renovation project. When all is said and done, the price tag will be in the $8.5 million range.

“We’ve been very transparent about the price tag,” Bagley said. “There were things that were unknown – first of all, the site work we didn’t know and the concrete restoration – we had estimates on the concrete restoration but it was much more extensive than we thought. It came in over budget and that’s why we’re very thankful to have people like John White and Eric McCracken and our committee to raise money. They were awesome in that process.

Bagley added that a portion of the $5 million from the bond issue was able to acrue some interest because it wasn’t spent all at once, and he said an additional $2 million that was raised, along with some permanent improvement money helped cover the cost overruns.

“It’s been a total community effort,” he said.

The first three phases of the project involved the aforementioned concrete restoration, a refurbished Cougar Pride Wall, scoreboard improvements, locker room, concession stand and restroom renovations on the home side of the stadium, an athletic training room, artificial turf, hand rails on the home side stands, a completely new and larger press box, a new handicap-accesible platform in front of the press box area and an elevator to the landing and the press box.

While work has taken place over the last four years, Bagley said it’s really been a 30-year project.

“When I came back to Van Wert to be a teacher, people were talking about Eggerss Stadium then – ‘what are you going to do about it?’ – there was talk of building schools in various locations and we finally got that accomplished out on 118 and then that became the big discussion point of where do you put it, on 118 or here. I think with all the discussions that happened during COVID and then downtown Van Wert it became clear the community wanted it downtown still – the vote on the bond issue confirmed that.”

The history of Eggerss Stadium dates back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s government-funded Works Progress Administration. The WPA provided jobs to millions of depression-era Americans who were unable to find work. The WPA provided money for workers to build the stadium, and Hans A. Eggerss, inventor of the fiber drum and founder of the former Continental Can Company in Van Wert, loaned money to the school system for materials, leading local school officials to name the facility H.A. Eggerss Stadium in his honor.

Construction of the stadium began in 1935, and was finished in time for the following football season. It’s believed the total cost of the stadium came in under $100,000. The Cougars opened that season, 1936, with a 12-0 win over Fort Wayne South.