Construction firm OK'd for Barrington stadium

With construction scheduled to get started on Barrington High School's stadium later this fall, officials this week put someone in charge of the project.

On Tuesday, the Barrington Area Unit District 220 school board approved the hiring of Pepper Construction as the stadium project's construction manager.

"What impressed us about Pepper was their on-time, on-budget performance," said board member Cara Richardson.

Founded in 1927, Pepper Construction has a long history of working on school-related projects.

Pepper vice president Peter Zouras, said the company has worked extensively over the years with schools in Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and recently completed a stadium project, similar to Barrington's, at Lake Forest High School.

Barrington's stadium is getting a complete makeover.

In April, voters agreed to spend $4.4 million to rebuild the stadium, which has a torn-up track, a grass infield that has deteriorated into dirt and stands that are old and not up to the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.

When finished, the stadium will include a new, eight-lane track and a larger field surface so soccer and lacrosse can be played on it, athletic director Mike Obsuszt said. New bleachers will have 2,500 seats for the home fans and 1,500 for the visitors.

Zouras said since the company has worked with school's before, they know how important it is to make sure all the students and staff are safe during the construction.

"We isolate ourselves from the rest of the facility," Zouras said. "You will visibly see us, but there will be no disruption caused by us on campus."

The stadium could also have a few upgrades, if the school's booster club has anything to say about it.

The group Friends of the Stadium is in the process of trying to raise $800,000 to replace the sod with synthetic turf and add permanent restrooms and a more elaborate scoreboard.

While construction is going on, several spring sports -- including track and field, soccer and lacrosse -- will need to use other facilities.

While soccer and lacrosse teams will be able to use high school practice fields for games, Obsuszt said the track and field teams more than likely will be bused off-site to practice.