Pine Bluff School District board members agreed to allow Lewis Architects Engineers to draft documents for an athletic construction master schedule Monday night.
The documents would allow East Harding Construction Co. to bid on sub-projects related to a proposed upgrade of Jordan Stadium. Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said the potential updates were discussed in a facilities committee meeting and included in the millage increase proposal voters approved in 2023, although the district did not ask for any funding to go toward athletic-only facilities.
Construction on a $74 million campus at the original PBHS location on West 11th Avenue began last summer with funding from the millage increase and state match funding covering the cost of the academic buildings only.
“This is something we would budget for and make sure we could afford before we begin any type of movement, as far as building,” Barbaree said. “But to even go forward with what the price would be, we need to begin with construction documents.”
Clayton Vaden of Lewis Architects Engineers showed a 3D rendering of proposed changes to Jordan Stadium.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“What we would do is draw everything you see, and get the construction documents and all the engineering done, turn the drawings over to East Harding and let them bid it and price it to create a shopping list,” Vaden told the board. “Well, then, the board can say, ‘We want to do these three things out of the 10’ or whatever it is. You all would have full freedom to pick and choose what pieces you want to add to the current job.”
The most notable proposal from the rendering is converting the visitors’ bleachers in front of the Multipurpose Complex to the home side, with the sun setting behind the home crowd during an evening game.
The new home entrance to the stadium would be located on the west side, according to the rendering. An outdoor plaza behind the home stands with lampstands and room for food trucks is a possibility.
Vaden said improved lighting and turf would also be part of the upgrades at the stadium, which only hosted sub-varsity games during the 2024 season due to construction. Varsity games will be held at Simmons Bank Field at Golden Lion Stadium for the second year in a row this fall.
“As far as what we approved tonight, it’s just to have the architect begin doing the construction documents so it can go out for bid,” Barbaree said.
“The reason we asked Clayton to go forward with this design, to begin the process, is because we have East Harding Construction, all the demolition and all the dirtwork in place,” she added. “If it would phase in, the way the project is moving now, it would actually be more beneficial monetarily to do that.”
The PBSD has already placed in its contract with East Harding a Championship Plaza as part of the new high school structure. The plaza, which would honor past championship teams, would be located at the site of the former Dunaway Fieldhouse on the south end of the stadium.
The scoreboard that was on the south end would be replaced with a videoboard on the north end with the possibility of a secondary scoreboard to the south.
“We know there are things we are going to have to improve with our football stadium. There are structural things that we need to work on, plus adding the new scoreboard because we moved the scoreboard when we did the project,” Barbaree said.