Last week, S.B. Ballard Construction Company, Clark-Nexsen & AECOM were notified of the Board of Visitors decision to not review our PPEA proposal. As I had previously mentioned, we engaged in this process knowing that ODU had the ability to accept, discuss further or deny this concept. Unfortunately, they chose the latter.
We believe that our initial proposal is a viable alternative to the stadium proposed as part of ODU’s campus master plan and would benefit the entire university and not solely athletics. Our approach would save years of construction and millions in expense, while minimizing the impact on surrounding neighborhoods and utilized the 8-year-old Ainslie game-day facility. It preserved the look and history of the original Foreman Field while upgrading amenities to allow the football program to be competitive in FBS now that they have fully transitioned to this higher level.
The proposal has the potential to be a great starting point for discussing a new stadium regardless of who would ultimately be chosen as the general contractor. In the future, if given the opportunity to make a proposal for a suitable facility, we remain interested.
Since the submission of our proposal went public, we have heard from many citizens in Hampton Roads with positive support. Many of these residents understand our desire to make Hampton Roads a better place to live, work and play. One individual provided us with a popular quote that he felt fit our company and we couldn’t agree more, “If a task is once begun, never leave it until it is done. If the task be great or small, do it well or not at all”.
The entire S.B. Ballard Construction Company remains committed to Old Dominion University including their administration and student body and will continue to actively participate in opportunities to better ODU whether as a general contractor, fundraiser or supporter of student activities.
