One could say it’s been a fairly litigious offseason for Iowa despite the normally calm and under the radar nature of the program.
First head coach Kirk Ferentz had his day before a judge in February as part of a dispute with his neighbors and now the school at large is on the hook for several million dollars in damages involving work on the team’s football facility.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette lays it out like this: A&P Samuels Group did some work on the team’s indoor practice facility years ago. Iowa was accused of breaching its contract and eventually taken to court for payment. Some six years later, we’ve arrived at what one would expect to be some of the final steps toward a resolution, with a local jury awarding the company some $2.3 million in the process.
Keep in mind that the Hawkeyes’ indoor practice facility opened all the way back in 2012 so it’s been a while for all involved to even get this point. Oh, and Iowa is all set to keep fighting the decision and the amount in court through various appeals and post-trial motions so neither party is really ready to move past things either.
Who knows when the final nail will be put in the coffin but it seems as though this isn’t the only legal battle of a similar nature that the university is fighting. Still, that indoor practice facility -- reportedly costing $55 million at the time -- could wind up being a bit more expensive by the time the team starts fall camp based on this latest legal wrangling in Iowa City.