Auburn University’s Football Performance Center construction bid awarded for $64.6 million

Four prequalified contractors recently submitted bids for Auburn University’s Football Performance Center. Rabren General Contractors, based in Auburn, was determined to be the lowest and responsible bidder and awarded the $64.6 million contract to construct the center.

Construction will include a 233,400-square-foot overall facility consisting of a 138,100-square-foot football operations building, a 95,300-square-foot indoor practice facility and two full-sized, natural turf football practice fields.

“This bid is a result of a lot of effort by the design team using target value design and continuous estimating to align scope with budget; and providing clear construction documents while giving bidders an appropriate bid schedule. All contributed to the project coming in on budget,” said Simon Yendle, Auburn assistant vice president for Planning, Design and Construction.

In January, the Auburn University Board of Trustees approved a $91.9 million total project budget for the center that will be located on the site of the old Hutsell Track on the corner of West Samford Avenue and Wire Road.

“The site is prepped and ready for construction,” said David Bess, campus architect and design lead for the Football Performance Center. “The building contract with Rabren is being finalized, and we should be starting construction the first weeks of March. The project’s design team and site work contractors have worked hard to meet our deadlines to date. We had an aggressive schedule that was met, and we will maintain this momentum as we start work with Rabren.”

In addition to the center’s contract, the overall budget includes a $3.9 million site works package, which prepared the land and installed infrastructure to support the new facility.

It also includes a $2.1 million tennis courts relocation package. This will allow the university to relocate the tennis courts to the corner of Hemlock Drive and West Thach Avenue. This construction package will build 11 tennis and eight pickleball courts. It is scheduled for completion this summer.

The remaining $21.3 million includes architectural and engineering services, furnishing, equipment purchases, contingency and other construction-related support line items.

The center is scheduled for completion fall 2022.