Weather caused delays in the construction of a new athletic complex at Pike County High School.

The complex is located on the opposite side of South Main Street from Pike County High School, behind the old “shirt factory.” An access road will be built from South Main to the complex.

Pike County School Superintendent Dr. Mark Bazzell said the complex is being built on a 28-acre site owned by the school system. The complex will include a baseball field, softball field, soccer field and track as well as concession stands, restrooms and associated support buildings. Bazzell said the plan had been to play spring sports at the complex this year, but the weather hadn’t cooperated with the timeline.

The project is divided into two phases, Bazzell said. Phase 1 will include the baseball and softball fields. Bazzell said the baseball and softball fields were expected to be ready for use this spring, but he said contractors lost a week of work during the January winter storm and have been hampered continually by rain. However, he said Phase I was nearing completion and the start of Phase II was still on schedule.

Phase II will include the soccer field and track with completion expected around the time school starts in the fall. Once all construction is complete, Bazzell said landscaping would be implemented and a three-lane access road would be paved. In addition, an existing parking lot next to the access road would be resurfaced and used for overflow parking for football games.

Bazzell said the cost of the complex came in at $4.5 million. He said Phase 1 costs were around $3 million. According to Bazzell, the school system acted as the general contractor for Phase 1, which saved the system a substantial amount of money. Bazzell said Mike Johnson, the system’s maintenance and transportation supervisor, oversaw Phase 1. For Phase II, Bazzell said a general contractor would be needed to oversee building construction, but the Phase II cost would only be about $1.5 million.

“The important thing is we won’t be incurring any debt for Phase I,” Bazzell said. “We had the money set aside for Phase 1.”

Bazzell said a project at Goshen High School would run concurrent with Phase II of the athletic complex project at Pike County High School. Bazzell said the old GHS gym will be renovated into an art complex that includes a stage, classrooms, a band room and an administrative suite.