McCarthy Stadium Construction Continues into 2021

It’s been just over six months since the start of stadium construction at Notre Dame. The school initially predicted the work would be done this month, but they are well behind schedule.

Wilco, the company building McCarthy Stadium, will be taking a break during the holidays. It’s expected only a small crew will be on the site during this time.

Work has been slowed most recently by heavy rain. Earlier delays happened in July when the school had to find a new place to take the many tons of soil they’ve removed. In August, a large sandstone formation near the school’s east wing needed smashing. You can see the crushed sandstone piled up under tarps at the corner of Parker and Kaslo.

The Notre Dame building committee thinks that the earliest the Parker Street parking lot could be ready is the end of January.

They also say that field itself is nearly ready for the artificial turf.

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The building committee doesn’t know when the turf company will start installation. Last June, we were told it had to be done during warmer, drier weather. This was the major justification for removing the Kaslo Street poplars during nesting season. If warmer weather is required, it may be spring before the turf work begins.

We still don’t have details about landscaping for the stadium. The habitat we lost in June can’t be replaced, but if the work is carefully done the new trees and shrubs may help contain some of the stadium noise.

In the meantime, it looks like we’ll be hearing construction noise for several more months.

If you have any comments or questions, please use the comments section below or email notredameneighbours@gmail.com