Slippery Rock University allocated about $2.8 million in 2022 to renovate Kasnevich Field, but township supervisors want SRU to increase nearby parking before proceeding.

The renovation includes putting turf on the grass field, then adding new dugouts, more seating behind home plate, restrooms, lights and a new press box, according to Roberta Page, SRU’s athletic director. If the money is available, Page also hopes to add lights.

“A lot of it will depend on how high the bids come in,” she said.

The turf field will stop weather from interfering with the team’s practice schedule and allow them to use the field when they need, Page added.

Bids will go out in March or April, and construction is scheduled to begin in June.

Kasnevich Field is located off Harmony Road between SRU’s tennis courts and the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center. The nearest parking is at the women’s softball and soccer complex, with the next closest parking is up the hill toward the equestrian center.

“It’s full just with the team. If they’re playing, that parking is already taken,” township supervisor Paul Dickey said about the softball and soccer complex parking.

The current renovation plan does not propose adding more parking with the additional seating, so supervisors said at Monday’s meeting they want the university to highlight nearby parking before taking further action.

According to Page, adding parking is very expensive and will be discussed further in the process.

“The big thing for us is we want to make a facility that our community can use, and even our surrounding communities,” Page said.

When the renovations are complete, Page hopes it will open more opportunities to host playoff games, high school playoffs, summer camps and organizations while being accessible to the community.

Earlier in the project, there was also discussion from one of the contracting companies about rotating the field. Page played on the field when she attended SRU and has never heard anyone else say the field’s orientation is incorrect, she said.

The rotation would have added about $1 million to the project and is no longer being considered, according to Dickey.

Kasnevich Field was last renovated in 2018 to add a new clay infield, new sod and drainage systems in the outfield, a new warning track and a new fence that was pushed back to meet NCAA standards, according to Rock Athletics. The 2018 renovations cost about $300,000, as reported by The Rocket, the university’s student newspaper.