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OMAHA — Big things are coming to Peru State College by the fall of 2024.
The college has announced plans to construct five buildings, including two air-supported domes, that will total more than 104,000 square feet.
Two buildings will be built north of the college’s Oak Bowl football stadium. One building will be a dome and measure 84,800 square feet. The domed building will include a practice football field, a weight room and three hard-surface interchangeable courts.
An attached building will feature what Peru State President Michael Evans called a “golf den” that will include two golf simulators, two hitting bays and a putting green for use by the school's golf teams. The attached building also will have a lobby, locker rooms and a concession stand.
Three buildings will be located near the college’s softball and baseball fields south of the main campus.
One building will be a dome measuring 6,300 square feet. That building will have an artificial turf surface that the baseball and softball teams can use for practice. A second building will house restrooms and a concession stand for people attending softball games. A third building near the baseball field will offer the same fan amenities and also include offices for coaches, locker rooms and athletic training facilities.
To go along with an estimated price tag of $14.6 million, the planned facilities, dubbed Project ROAR, will represent the college’s largest construction project in its 155-year history, according to a news release.
Although the project is dependent upon fundraising, officials hope to begin construction next spring and open the facilities in fall 2024.
The five buildings will be the first new buildings at Peru State since 1980, when the Al Wheeler Activity Center was built.
The five planned buildings are expected to free up hours and space at the Wheeler Center. Evans said the center is currently booked from the early morning to the late evening by the college’s varsity and junior varsity teams.
“This will make it much easier for students to get active and get moving,” he said.
Evans said the college could consider expanding its sports offerings after the new buildings are open. Peru State competes at the NAIA level.
To date, the college has secured $10.6 million. That funding has come from the state government and college fund dedicated for construction projects.
The college is asking for donations from alumni and others to raise the remaining $4 million. Evans said people and organizations can purchase naming rights for individual buildings and the facilities housed within them.
“This is not being done at the expense of our students,” he said.
Peru State’s announcement follows Wayne State College’s announcement earlier this summer that it plans to spend $26.5 million to build an air-supported dome and renovate its Recreation Center, Rice Auditorium and Kirk Gardner Indoor Athletic Complex. The Wayne State project also is expected to begin next spring.
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