Bids to replace the 78,720 square foot Huskie Stadium playing field this summer will be opened at 2 p.m. Monday at the NIU Physical Plant.

NIU received permission from the Board of Regents Jan. 25 to get bids for replacing the nearly 10-year-old stadium turf and padding.

The Board governs NIU, Illinois State University at Normal and Sangamon State University at Springfield.

“Instead of the fibers standing straight up and offering traction, they are bent eastward” causing football players to “slip more and move the ball less,” said NIU Head Football Coach Jerry Pettibone.

Getting the new turf will help our “wishbone offense by making east-west moves safer,” Pettibone said. The turf will impress potential recruits and “be a big morale boost to our players,” he said.

NIU Materials Management Director Donald Widick said vendors have informally estimated the project will cost eight dollars per square foot.

BOR Chancellor Roderick Groves recommended improving NIU and ISU’s playing fields simultaneously, and said contractors might lower cost estimates per field.

ISU and NIU developed separate project specifications, Widick said. Bidders will submit separate bids for each field and a combined cost for both NIU and ISU’s fields, he said.

Widick said NIU specifications require bidders to itemize costs of removing and replacing NIU’s turf and padding and repairing the asphalt beneath it.

Bidders also will list estimate prices for an eight year maintenance plan, inlaid markings and a Huskie logo for the center of the field, he said.