Despite a series of construction delays and concern about risking NCAA certification, the University of Hawaii said the $13 million Clarence T. C. Ching Athletic Complex will be completed by its end-of-December deadline.

"As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to deliver that project December 2013," said Vassilis Syrmos, the associate vice chancellor overseeing the project.

UH coaches were recently given an update on the project and told that rain, asbestos, discovery of an unexpected electrical conduit and procurement issues have all contributed to delays in construction of the facility that will be used by track and field, cross country, soccer, football, sand volleyball, intramurals and community groups.

Some coaches had hoped the facility would be completed this summer.

Syrmos said, "We were thinking it would be done by October, but we gave ourselves a couple of months leeway."

The completion date is key to UH retaining its NCAA certification and being allowed to compete in NCAA championship events. An NCAA peer review group last year certified UH with the condition that the Ching Complex be completed in 2013. Last month UH was required to reaffirm the project’s status.

The NCAA took the action after UH, which had pledged to resolve gender equity issues in facilities in a 2002 report, had not done so by 2012.

The NCAA has told UH it faces the possibility of "restricted membership" if the facilities are not completed in time. Institutions listed on "restricted membership" may be ruled ineligible for NCAA championships.

"It is very important to our NCAA certification that we have this project completed," athletic director Ben Jay said. "It has been a long time coming and that we need to deal with these issues of equity, and this facility will go a long way toward achieveing that."

An NCAA spokeswoman deferred comment Monday.

UH received a $5 million donation from the Ching Foundation in 2008 to spearhead the project. It was supposed to have led to the facility opening in 2011 at a $9.7 million price tag. But it took UH until 2012 to come up with the matching funds required.

Meanwhile, a $4.5 million renovation of the women’s locker room and expansion of the Nagatani Academic Center is said to be on schedule for completion this month.

A football locker room renovation, which was supposed to be concluded before fall camp begins in July, has a mid-September completion date.

"I’m trying to squeeze the schedule to get it done by the end of August," Jay said.