Linn-Mar chooses contractor for new football stadium

The Linn-Mar school board Tuesday night accepted a low bid of $8,357,800 from Knutson Construction of Iowa City to build a new stadium and parking lot to replace flood-prone Armstrong Field.

The multipurpose stadium will have 4,000 home and 1,000 visitor seats with parking for just under 750 vehicles.

It also will have extensive support facilities and an eight-lane track with a nine-lane straightaway.

The board also accepted a low bid of $2,426,000 from Tri-Con Construction, a Dubuque-based firm with an office in Swisher, for additional facilities at Linn-Mar's new transportation, operations and maintenance center in east Marion.

Current transportation and operations facilities are being moved from the district's main campus on North 10th Street to make room for the new stadium complex.

District officials expect the majority of subcontractors on both projects will come from the local area.

-- Kevin Kane, news correspondent