BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Vice President for Business and Treasurer Jim Roberts provided an update recently on the many construction projects going on at Campbell, including the Convocation Center, football stadium street reconfiguration and others.

"Things are going well," said Roberts. "Thanks to our gracious donors and new student enrollment, we have made major progress in making innovations and improvements at Campbell."

Primary on the list is the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center expected to be completed in September 2008. Seats have been installed in the arena which houses up to 5,000 people (for concerts and graduation and 3000 for basketball) and 95 percent of the painting is complete, Roberts said.

The heating and air conditional are operable and final grading and landscaping has also begun. Workers are installing a 500-place parking lot in the rear of the facility and basketball goals have been hung in the practice gymnasium. The locker rooms have been tiled and lockers and partitions are being installed. The $29 million building, which contains 160,000 square feet and will be the largest sporting and cultural events center in the region, is on budget and almost ready for its first event, Roberts said.

Since the announcement in 2007 that Campbell would field a football team for the first time in 50 years, major steps have been taken to make football a reality. A new $3 million field house is complete and occupied by the football coaches and their staff, and the first spring practice has already been held on the new football field. The field is constructed of Astro Turf for easy maintenance and function during inclement weather. Construction on the stadium's bleachers, concession stands and restrooms, as well as the scoreboard and fencing will be completed by the first of August.

The Fighting Camels will play their first home game against Birmingham Southern on August 30, and will go up against Davidson on Nov. 1 at Homecoming. The track, which had to be moved from its location on U.S. 421 to make room for the football stadium and field house, is currently being designed and will be located off Gregory Circle near the soccer and softball field on campus.

Construction on the new roundabout at the intersection of Leslie Campbell Avenue, Harmon Road and T.T. Lanier streets should be completed by October 2008, Roberts said. The roundabout will improve safety and traffic flow.

Other projects under construction are renovations to the second floor laboratories and classrooms in the Hall of Science and the third floor of Sauls Dormitory. Roberts said the rooms on the third floor will be reconfigured into suites, each with its own lounge area, and include five rooms to a suite. Another dormitory, Small Hall, is also getting new carpet and paint, as well as all lounges on the south end of Burkot and McCall dormitories. The labs and classrooms in the science building are being updated with new lighting fixtures, floors, cabinetry and ceilings.

The basement of the Divinity School's 450-seat Butler Chapel has been excavated and the chapel is expected to be completed in May 2009. Campbell continues to work with architects and engineers to determine the feasible occupancies for its original building, historic Kivett Hall, Roberts said.

"We have found with some additional bracing and structural enhancements, Kivett should be available for use in the near future," he said.

Work is also underway at the new site of Campbell's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in Raleigh. Renovations should be completed by fall 2009.

"Architects continue to work on the schematic design and floor plans and structural calculations are being finalized for the new law school," Roberts said. "Demolition is well underway on the 109,000 square-foot building."

According to Roberts all new construction at Campbell utilizes energy efficiency and environmental awareness, including using water saving devices, recyclable materials, energy efficient lighting and fuel efficiency. "These are the kinds of things we are doing with construction across campus and in Raleigh," he said.