By Katerina Marcotte – Assistant Section Editor
The Board of Regents met on Dec. 1 with committee meetings beginning at 9 a.m. and a board meeting at 1 p.m. The meetings were held in Varner Hall at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
On the agenda was the finalization of the building decisions for the West Haymarket Arena, including the approval of the Joint Public Agency’s agreement.
The West Haymarket Arena, which will house home games and practice space for mens and women’s basketball, has been under construction since Nov. 16. Mortenson Construction of Minnesota was chosen to build the arena, which is estimated to cost $168 million and could provide as many as 2,000 jobs.
“West Haymarket Arena will be a great asset to the city of Lincoln and state of Nebraska,” Mortenson Construction Vice President Derek Cunz said on the company’s website. “It will generate a lot of economic activity during construction and it will be an amazing facility for Nebraska sports and activities when it’s complete. We are honored to have been selected to be the builder of the West Haymarket Arena and look forward to our partnership with Lincoln.”
Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler chose between two teams of four construction companies. Mortenson Construction will team up with Hampton Enterprises for the project.
Further approved was the selection of Clark Enersen Partners as architect for the Memorial Stadium improvements. The stadium is in need of more seating and will receive 4,900 to 5,550 new seats.
UNL has expressed concern about keeping with the stadium’s façade.
“The best way to treat a beautiful, historic stadium is three simple words: leave it alone,” John Schmidt said during his presentation to the Board of Regents. Construction is set to begin in May or June 2013.
The regents also voted to approve repairs at UNL in order to meet all required state statutes. The repairs could cost up to $1,646,385.
