Iowa State officials hope to open Hilton by Nov. 4

(AP) - Flood-ravaged Hilton Coliseum should be ready by the women's basketball opener on Nov. 4, Iowa State University officials said Thursday.

The arena and 25 other buildings on the Iowa State campus suffered storm and flood damage last week, but the Hilton attracted the most attention after as much as 14 feet of water from nearby Squaw Creek inundated the building.

Flooding elsewhere in Ames forced hundreds of people to leave their homes and led to pipe breaks that drained the city's water towers, leaving the city of 55,000 without safe drinking water for four days.

Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance, said it's too early to determine exact damages.

"It's certainly in the millions of dollars but I'm not prepared today to give you an exact number," he said at a news conference.

Madden said repair costs to some buildings would be within the levels of insurance carried by the university but others, such as Hilton, may exceed insurance coverage. Madden also said some of the repair costs will likely be covered by federal disaster funds.

"We need to work out the process as we go forward," he said. "We want to do this safely. We do not want to reoccupy any of these facilities until we are sure they are safe to be in."

Crews are working to remove dirt and debris from buildings, a job that should be done by the end of this week. University officials will then begin looking at what repairs are needed and what flood mitigation efforts can be taken.

"We need to assess what we can do to minimize these kinds of things from happening again in the future," Madden said.

Some improvements were made after floods in 1993 and 2008, but last week's flood entered areas that had not previously been affected, Madden said.

In Hilton, water and muck have been removed and wet sheetrock and carpeting have been stripped from second-floor offices. Power remains out and an assessment of the electrical system is under way. Officials said they hope to have the building ready in time for the Nov. 4 women's basketball opener.

"Our No. 1 goal as we talked about what our priorities are is we had to get Hilton open for that first basketball game because we're limited in what alternatives we'd have for basketball," said Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. "In what capacity we'll be able to open it, that is yet to be determined."

He said the university must go through the proper channels for purchasing items and materials, and in some cases that takes time.

Pollard said one example is the 2,500 retractable seats in the arena circle. It will take at least 18 weeks to get those seats replaced, he said.

While getting Hilton open in time for the basketball season is a top priority, Pollard said other sports have been affected. He said the women's volleyball team will play its matches at Ames High School this year. The women's soccer team will play its season opener in Ankeny.

Although parking lots must be repaired, officials said that likely won't affect the Sept. 2 football opener.

Madden said all the Iowa State buildings that have been affected conformed to standards and regulations that were in place at the time they were constructed. But he said the university will consider further measures the could protect the campus from flooding

Officials said the damages won't affect the start of classes next week and that in most cases students won't notice a thing because classrooms and dining halls weren't flooded.

University President Gregory Geoffrey noted, though, that many challenges lie ahead as the recovery moves forward.

"This recovery phase is going to take a while, certainly well into the fall semester and some areas much beyond that," Geoffrey said.