The reason for the switch to a wood-built structure was that Cemstone suddenly announced their abrupt withdrawal from the project at the last minute. (This after agreeing long ago that leftover block would be set aside and reserved for the concession stand project.) Upon sending an email seeking reconsideration, or a suitable explanation, the boosters were sadly given very little on why the promised block was suddenly no longer available. The loss of Cemstone's involvement was without a doubt the worst blow to come during this regretfully long process. Since then, Anchor Block has been more than willing to pick up the pieces by providing free foundation block for the newly revised stick-built plan, for which the boosters are greatly appreciative.

With Cemstone out, the boosters approached Pro-Build about a full stick-built option. With the economy tanking fast, there was no way for Pro-Build to be able to donate all the materials needed since they were already involved with the cost of the roof. New manager Dan Lieser was kind enough to offer all materials to the boosters at cost, a figure much less than the lowest mason fee. It was at this point, in the interest of getting on with the project and finishing quickly, that the boosters made the decision to finally go with a full stick-built facility, made of 2x6 wood. In essence the boosters would swap the mason labor fees for the cost of materials. In the end run, this would tap all remaining money the group had saved for any project labor fees.

Unfortunately, the decision to build with wood meant another costly blueprint revision. The new blueprint plans were completed and submitted to the city of Lakeville and District 194 in March, whereupon they were approved and given the final go ahead.

The project officially began Thursday, April 30th and should hopefully be completed by the middle of May.

Our Wonderful Sponsors

In soliciting local business and corporate help, the boosters have been fortunate to find many supportive businesses to help in their project. Major commitments to the proposed project have come from the following businesses:

Pro-Build of Lakeville. They have taken the lead role as the principal supplier of materials for this project. Despite a change in management and a worsening economy, they have stepped forward with a firm commitment of support. A very special thank you to new manager Dan Lieser for his unwavering commitment and kind generosity in helping make this project happen. This much needed facility would not be possible without their involvement. [ website ]

Stahl Construction of St. Louis Park. This very highly respected construction company also built Lakeville South high school, and has agreed to be the contractor of record, supervising the construction of this much needed revenue project. Special thanks to VP Scott Everson, as well as Brenda Studt, Josh Gangestad and the Stahl Community Giving Committee for their invaluable help and guidance in completing this revenue generating facility. [ website ]

Anchor Block of Shakopee. They have agreed to step in after Cemstone's recent departure. They will gladly supply all the much needed foundation block for the project. The alumni boosters are greatly appreciative to Anchor Block and give their thanks to Kevin Hegyi and Sandy Stoffel for stepping in at the last minute with their invaluable support. Their donation is very much needed for the project. [ website ]

Viking Concrete & Masonry of Elko. They have signed on to the project to provide the labor expertise for the footings and concrete flooring, as well as the surrounding sidewalk for the concession stand. The boosters gladly thank Terry Fredrickson for offering the professional support of Viking Concrete & Masonry. After getting strung out for months by other masons on the foundation issue, the boosters are happy to finally have this integral cog in place. [ weblink ]

Designed Cabinets of Lakeville. They have kindly offered to donate all the beautiful interior cabinetry for the new concession stand. Thanks to owner Jeff Barum for this much appreciated offering. Thanks also to former Legion coach Adam VanGrinsven, once the financial controller for Designed Cabinets, for his assistance in coordinating this donation, for which the boosters are very thankful. [ website ]

Tee Jay North of Lakeville. They have generously agreed to supply the steel doors and frames needed for the facility. They have gone out of their way to find the proper doors for this new structure. A very big thank you to David Paschall, Greg Gonet and Tom Ludwig for the much appreciated  support from Tee Jay North. [ website ]

New Windows For America of MN. Serving the greater metro area, this quality window company has agreed to donate all the windows for the new press box facility. The boosters are most grateful and wish to thank Rhonda Steffes for the wonderful support from NWFA-MN. [ website ]

Collins Electrical Systems, Inc. They have been nice enough to sign on and handle the installation of all the necessary electrical for the new concession stand and press box. The Cougar Boosters extend their sincerest thanks to Keith Habeck at ColliSys for their much valued support of this project.
View electric 1st floor | View electric 2nd floor    [ website ]

AVR (Apple Valley Ready-Mix). This company stepped in when Cemstone abruptly abandoned the project. They have agreed to donate all of the concrete necessary in the construction of the new building. The boosters thank Pete Fischer for stepping in at the last minute to supply the much needed concrete for completing the project. [ website ]

South Metro Rental of Lakeville. They have generously loaned the use of a back-hoe for the excavation of the footings and flooring. Thank you to Dale Green for the loan of the heavy machinery. The boosters appreciate the involvement of South Metro Rental. [ website ]

ProFab Welding & Machine of Lakeville. They have agreed to produce the flip-up concession windows for the first floor of the new concession stand. Thanks to Ben Stuber for the help on these custom built windows.

A plumber is currently the last service professional being sought for the outside water hookup for the new concession facility. This is an essential need for field maintenance.
View plumbing plan

Extra carpenters are also being sought to help out on the project. If you would like to offer your assistance, please contact Tim Watts or Pat Daniels at the following email addresses:

All money raised from the facility supports Cougar baseball.

Original plan # 1 - single story concession with patio & storage facility.

If your company would like to help with a tax deductible donation for the project, please contact Cougar Baseball Boosters Tim Watts, or Pat Daniels, or Stan Fredrickson from ISD 194 or South AD Neil Strader.

BASEBALL CONCESSION STAND FOR SOUTH
A Place To Eat And A Revenue Mechanism For Cougar Baseball

Plan # 3 - two story stick-built facility, concession with press box.

The Cougar Baseball alumni Boosters have been planning for a major contribution for Cougar Field with the addition of a much needed permanent concession stand for the varsity field. The boosters have been working very hard to fund the entire project through charitable donations with no cost to Lakeville South or District 194. All efforts have been made to avoid school district money.

The alumni boosters have worked hard at writing funding requests and soliciting material donations from area businesses and local corporations for the last 18 months, so that a concession stand might possibly be built to service the baseball fields at Lakeville South High School.

While the alumni boosters have been very successful at finding willing partners to help build the proposed building, the project has had its roadblocks and setbacks to overcome.

The original plan was for a one-level concession stand and field tractor storage facility, complete with a covered patio. Unknown to many, the crew that put in the sprinkler irrigation system was quite liberal in using up most of the property with underground pipes that could not be built over.

The graphic below shows the priority order for all site locations. Option number one was where the single-story concession stand described above would've been located.

After location site number one was removed as an option, site number two was chosen because it could serve two useful purposes, a concession stand and also a much needed press box. With that change the boosters would have to give up their desired tractor storage due to area space limitations. Rather than spreading out, the plan then had to go up instead, making the press box a very attractive new option.

The other remaining sites were excluded because of various obstacles. Number three would have taken land that could be used for a future home bullpen behind the Cougar home dugout. It also would have had poor site lines for games, something which volunteer parents operating the stand would not have enjoyed. Site number four would have been closer to the visitors than the home team, but that was not a realistic option anyway as it had the same restrictions as site number one with numerous buried irrigation lines running underneath the ground.

With that, the boosters were forced back to the drawing board to change their original design and thus pay for another very costly set of blueprints. It was at that time that the decision was made to switch to a two-story building, due to space limitations. The two-story facility would work well because we could trade the tractor storage for a much needed press box instead.  (see two-story options)

Plan # 2- two story block facility, concessions with press box.

During this process the alumni boosters had approached a number of skilled mason crews, but much to the group's disappointment, all bids were considered too high for labor only, since all materials were already provided. The bids ranged from $11,000 to $17,000. This process literally consumed the project for well over a year. We were given many promises of receiving low bids to help in this altruistic endeavor, but none ever came to fruition.

Another huge setback was the unexpected death of the city building supervisor who was working closely with us on the project. Unfortunately some things that had already been discussed or agreed upon were not officially documented before his death. The boosters then had to retrace some steps and begin anew with the city.

Other setbacks to the concession stand would be the sudden change in upper management at three separate businesses involved in the project. Most notable would be the change at Pro-Build, the lumber company providing the roof for the structure. New management then needed time to review and evaluate the boosters' partnership proposal, but in the end they were very kind to continue on with the project.

Another unexpected pitfall would come when the wrong location for the project was somehow approved, a spot never even asked for by the alumni boosters (option # 4) since it contained the same restrictions as their original location. (see site locations graphic above)

Once the proper location was straightened out, a new time consuming engineering study had to be completed on the correct plot, with more site plans needed to be drawn up and then approved by the city of Lakeville. At one point, after waiting over six weeks, it was discovered that the engineers had errantly overlooked the site revision, so more time was unfortunately lost.

An added setback came from the Minnesota Department of Health which dramatically altered its rules and regulations for concession stand construction and operation. Any concession stand cooking food is now required to have an operational three-basin sink. This became a huge obstacle as there is no sewer or drainage near the varsity field. The only way to incorporate the new sink set-up would be to install an expensive budget breaking drain field near the concession stand. This issue alone might have easily killed the entire project, however the boosters made the decision that the only other way around the required sink setup and its resulting expensive drain field was to significantly alter the food fare menu of the concession stand. By forsaking the grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, in lieu of pre-packaged foods and beverages, the project could once again continue forward.

Painted outline shows new concession location. (click on picture)

With those obstacles out of the way, the boosters were finally able to find a significantly lower mason labor bid for $7,000, but that lead suddenly dried up once the boosters had their promised block donation pulled. The group then moved to a stick-built option. After asking for a new bid for a foundation and footings only, the boosters waited weeks, only to get a reply that it would be forthcoming. In reality, the contractor never did ever submit a new foundation bid.