A Texas-based company has won the contract to build the new Powell High School stadium.

The Park County School District No. 1 school board voted last week to award the $2.14 million contract to Hellas Construction of Austin, Texas.

The only other bidder for the project was Groathouse Construction of Cody, according to Todd Wilder, coordinator of support services for District No. 1.

Wilder said Groathouse did not qualify for the 5 percent preference normally given to in-state contractors due to the specialized nature of much of the work on the project. Current state law requires a primary contractor to award 70 percent of the total subcontracted work to local subcontractors in order to receive the 5 percent preference. Wilder said Groathouse was unable to meet that standard because not enough in-state subcontractors able to do the work were available.

The project includes building an eight-lane track, an artificial turf playing surface, bleachers seating 2,000 spectators, a press box, restrooms, a concession area, lighting and a sound system.

According to Wilder, major maintenance funding from the Wyoming School Facilities Commission will provide approximately $483,000 for a six-lane track under the commission’s guidelines; however the district has elected to expand the track to eight lanes at district expense. The commission also agreed to allow the district to use around $176,000 in enhancement funds to build bleachers and a press box. The remainder of the project will be paid for with district funds.

Wilder said the district has reached a compromise with the city regarding the number of restroom facilities required. Under current codes, a facility built for 2,000 spectators would require 24 restroom stalls; however, since that number of spectators would rarely be in attendance, the city agreed to allow for fewer stalls, provided plans are in place to accommodate a bigger crowd if necessary. The district will monitor crowd sizes to see if more facilities are warranted in the future.

Patty Wurzel made the motion to accept Hellas Construction’s bid, and it passed on a 5-0 vote. Trustees Dee Heny and Trace Paul were absent.

In a related action, Engineering Associates of Powell won the bid to perform materials testing for the project. The company’s bid, $9,725, passed 5-0.

No date for starting work on the project was announced, but earlier discussion indicated that the track might be ready for the 2012 track season depending on the weather this fall, and the stadium completed in time for the 2012 football season.