Firm completes indoor softball facility at SIUE

February 19, 2012 2:08 PM

EDWARDSVILLE — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s new indoor softball structure, recently completed by Holland Construction Services Inc., now is providing practice space for the Cougars softball team in preparation for the upcoming season.

Completed on a condensed schedule, the indoor space is keeping the current 19 Cougar team members out of inclement weather, and in the words of associate athletic director and head softball coach Sandy Montgomery, “It’s an awesome facility.”

The $820,000 project provides 11,664 square feet of space for team practices, for the department to hold athletic camps and offer a number of activities that previously weren’t possible. Montgomery said the facility is expected to help boost the department’s recruiting efforts and enable the team to be more competitive at the NCAA Division I level.

The Cougars began using the facility Jan. 8, complete with a full synthetic turf infield and bases, two batting cages, pitching areas, suspended nets and three practice mounds. The facility is next to the soccer stadium.

In the past, the team sometimes traveled to other indoor soccer facilities or improvised indoor practice in SIUE’s Vadalabene Center.

“This will allow us to conduct all our practices in one space, in a more effective and productive manner,” Montgomery said. “It has changed the way we are able to prepare for the season and will enable us to get more done than we have been able to do before.

“And throughout the project, the Holland team and site supervisor were great,” she said. “They addressed any concerns that came along.”

Oates Associates of Collinsville was the architectural firm for the project.

Holland Construction Services is a full-service contracting and construction management firm based in Swansea, guided by the principle of delivering total customer satisfaction. The company has been providing quality construction throughout Missouri and Illinois since 1986, when it was founded by Bruce Holland.

HCS offers design/build, general contracting and construction management services to commercial, retail, health care, senior living, light industrial, recreational/athletic and educational clients. The firm is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and provides guidance in certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In 2010, The St. Louis Business Journal ranked the firm as one of the top 20 contractors in the St. Louis area.

For more information, visit Holland’s website at http://www.hollandcs.com.

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Firm completes indoor softball facility at SIUE