South Elgin stadium on track for fall

That was fast.

Just about two months after announcing their first major donation, the South Elgin Boosters said this week they had collected another one giving them enough money to finance phase one of a new stadium.

The boosters said they are not surprised by the generosity of local business owners or how quickly they were able to meet their first goal.

“We had to come up with a worthwhile target,” said Michelle Miller, a spokeswoman for the boosters. “It's a lot easier to donate $200,000 to something that will be erected in the next eight to 18 months, versus something we won't put up for another three, four, five years down the line.”

There's still a lot of work left to be done if the stadium supporters want to install bleachers, natural turf and a brick walkway in time for fall 2011 sports and activities.

As the holiday season starts, the boosters will have to work with staff in Elgin Area School District U-46 to solicit bids for the work and comply with competitive bidding laws.

According to South Elgin Principal Melanie Meidel, scheduling shouldn't be a major issue. While competing high schools typically need a year's notice or even two about dates and locations of matches, they usually need to know only if a game is home or away, Meidel said.

That means it wouldn't be a problem to shift South Elgin's home matches from Streamwood's Millennium Field to South Elgin High School.

Meidel was more concerned about construction going smoothly.

“We would love to start next fall,” she said. “That's the goal, but with construction, you never know if there's going to be a labor issue.”

Renovations and other work at some suburban schools were delayed during the summer because of a construction strike.

The boosters estimate the entire stadium project will cost about $3.2 million. They have already started fundraising for phase two.