The current construction at O’Brien Stadium should solve a problem that has plagued the track for years, according to university officials.

Mark Bonstetter, senior associate athletic director, said for over ten years the surface of the rubber track would form large bubbles when temperatures rose in the spring.

He said the current $3.2 million project being done by Hellas Sports Construction should prevent these bubbles from forming in the future.

Bonstetter said the bubbles would usually be two to three feet in diameter and 20 to 40 of them could form every year.

“If you looked at the south curve of the track in the past few years you could see repair after repair,” Bonstetter said. “It was getting to be unsafe.”

Stephen Shrake, associate director of design and construction, said the bubbles are not normal weathering for a track’s surface.

He said before doing construction on the track workers from facilities planning and management performed soil-boring tests to see what was below the track’s surface.

Shrake said they found only clay soil beneath the rubber surface and not the rock drainage base that had supposedly been built in 1968.

He said plans for the track originally included a rock base but since it was built before any of the current facilities planning and management employees were at Eastern, they have no knowledge of why it was eliminated.

Bonstetter said he has seen problems resulting from the poor foundation for as long as he can remember.

“There has probably never been proper drainage under that track,” he said. “We hope we don’t have this problem again.”

Shrake said the clay soil would trap water beneath the track and when the temperature rises each year water vapor is driven through the rubber surface causing it to bubble.

He said the rock and drainage tile they will place beneath the track during this construction will allow moisture to go in a different direction and prevent bubbling.

“Now that we know, once we found out why, we’re going to do it right,” Shrake said.

He said the project first started back in April. Shrake said the project took a break for the IHSA state track competition but it has a target end date of August 8 so the football team can begin practice before the start of the semester.

“There may be some incidentals but at least it will be to the point where they can get out and practice,” Shrake said.

He said the football turf in O’Brien will also be replaced during construction.

The field has become worn out and has out lived its lifespan, Shrake said.

He said working on the field at the same time as the track means they do not have to come back in later and protect work they have already done.

Bonstetter said he is excited about the new field and he thinks it will excite the coaches and players.

“That field is over ten-years-old and has taken a lot of abuse,” he said. “It’s beyond its years to be honest.”

Bonstetter said between the various teams, camps and bands that practice on the field it is in use constantly. He said it has become matted and flat, the logo is wearing away, and it is potentially not safe.

Both Bonstetter and Shrake said much of the construction will make the track and field more NCAA compliant such as the grading and cage of the shot-put and javelin areas.

Shrake they are also moving the long jump and triple jump areas outside of the track and putting them closer to the visitor’s stands.

He said this makes the design of the facility cleaner and gives a clear distinction between track and football.

They also plan to put up a retaining wall by the visitor’s stands to maintain the grade of the jump areas, he said.

Shrake said they are also going to run the electricity needed for the tailgating area underground. He said in the past they needed to run cables over ground but the new design will make the area cleaner.

Both Shrake and Bonstetter said the construction being done has caused several displacements for groups who normal use the stadium during the summer.

Shrake said he was personally disappointed The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, a group that practices at Eastern every summer, was not able to perform their normal dress rehearsal at O’Brien.

Bonstetter said the construction has displaced all of Eastern’s athletes and the Smith and Walbridge band camps who normal use the field during the summer. He said athletics has been working with the housing and dining department to make sure each group has had a space at Eastern.

“We understand it’s an inconvenience,” Bonstetter said. “It’s progress, it’s worth it for something we’re working on.”

He said the new construction should Eastern one of the best track and field facilities in the Midwest, which will help with recruitment and keep IHSA coming back each year.

Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].