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Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

"It's looking a little less likely that we'll be opening the season at the new stadium," says Blacksburg athletic director Jack Hencke. "If there's dry weather, we may be in good shape, but a few more thunderstorms may push us back."

Blacksburg High School Principal Michael Hurst at the school's new football stadium on Prices Fork Road. Questions remain as to whether the stadium will be done for the Aug. 29 season opener.

BLACKSBURG -- Preseason football practice has a way of riling up a community, and this one gives even more incentive to be excited about the upcoming season.

With the ongoing construction of the "new" Bill Brown Stadium on Prices Fork Road, Bruins players and fans are assuredly amped about opening their new stomping grounds.

However, with the Aug. 29 season opener against Giles quickly approaching, questions remain as to whether the stadium will be done in time. Blacksburg athletic director Jack Hencke is skeptical.

"It's looking a little less likely that we'll be opening the season at the new stadium," he said. "There's a lot of grading and paving of walkways and surrounding areas to be done, and there are also some draining issues on the field. If there's dry weather, we may be in good shape, but a few more thunderstorms may push us back."

The stadium's press box and seating areas were completed early this summer. The concession stand was completed in early July. A water-main leak inside the building was subsequently found and repaired.

Elsewhere, the stadium lights are functional. The sound system will not be fully installed until the fencing, about 25 percent complete, is done.

It had been hoped that an artificial turf surface would be installed in time for football season. However, the high school's booster club's fundraising effort for the new turf is currently about $300,000 short of its $700,000 goal. Instead, natural grass will be used. It could be played on today, Hencke said.

The 5,400-square-foot locker room will include space for both the Bruins and the visiting team. Game officials will also have a locker room. The building will contain additional storage areas for maintenance equipment.

The building is modeled after Salem Stadium's facility. Construction has been under the direction of Scott Stosser, partner in Blacksburg's SAS Builders. The building effort came as a joint project with the booster club's turf fundraising.

Richard Mitchell has coordinated the funding efforts for the combined projects, despite the fact that both of his children have finished their careers at Blacksburg.

"In February of 2007, we estimated the cost of the two stadium enhancements to be $1.2 million," Mitchell said "We started a fundraising campaign last summer and currently we've raised $910,000. We've had a huge range of donation amounts, everywhere from $20 up to $75,000 or $100,000. Perhaps our biggest donations have come from SAS Builders in Blacksburg, who are giving their services in overseeing, coordinating and managing construction of the building. Duncan Ford is also a major sponsor, as well as the National Bank and Clinton's Transfer & Storage."

Since obtaining the building permit April 1, Stosser and about 10 of his SAS Builders employees have raced to finish it in time for the season opener.

"We're probably at least 80 percent done with the building, and the biggest speed bump for me right now is installing a water pump that takes the water up to the building," Stosser said. "We've just received a carpet donation, we've got to paint the walls blue and yellow, and paint the shower floors blue as well. It will look very nice when we're finished."

Stosser's goal is to make the new stadium as luxurious as possible.

"They had said they were going to put everyone in tents at halftime, and I completely disagreed with that," Stosser said. "I ran my mouth a little bit and volunteered to get this locker room built. I've got an 8-year-old and a 3-year-old and my brother has a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old also. I'm doing this stuff for the kids, so there will be a nice facility for them in the future."

As for the artificial turf, Mitchell said that a committee was formed recently with representatives from the booster club, the New River United Soccer Association, the town of Blacksburg and Montgomery County. The group will explore some of the recent turf fields installed at high schools in Roanoke and the surrounding areas. He hopes to have a surface selected and installed by the summer of 2009.

If the new stadium is deemed unavailable for use on opening night, Hencke and his colleagues have discussed alternative plans. While asking Giles to host the game may be the easiest route, it probably wouldn't be the best plan for Blacksburg.

"If we were certain that we'd only miss one game, we would ask Giles to host the game," Hencke said. "But if there's any possibility that we'll miss more than one game, including eighth grade, JV and varsity, our boosters probably couldn't afford to lose that many events."

That said, Hencke is in the process of preparing the "old" Bill Brown Stadium on South Main Street as their alternate site, just in case.

"We'll be desperately trying to figure out exactly how close we are to completion and where we'll be for opening night within the next week," Hencke said.