A plan to build a sports medicine complex at Western Kentucky University stalled Monday when the university announced it would close a bidding process.

In a statement, WKU announced that it was closing the bidding process for the project because none of the proposals it received met the project’s requirements. 

The move is the latest in a series of events after WKU first sought to partner with The Medical Center in August to build the $22 million complex. The university agreed to bid the project in September after criticism from state lawmakers and a legal protest filed on behalf of Western Kentucky Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical Associates. The protest decried the negotiation process leading up to the deal as unfair and potentially illegal. 

“We think that Western Kentucky University has come to the appropriate decision here, and we applaud them for it,” said Jonathan Miller, an attorney representing WKONA who filed the initial protest.

Miller said WKONA didn’t submit a proposal for the project because of concerns about the project’s legal standing. 

“We did not feel that it was the appropriate way to provide those services,” he said. “In fact, we were very concerned about federal legal liabilities.”

Doris Thomas, vice president for marketing and development with The Medical Center, responded to requests for an interview by sending a statement. 

“We have been advised by email this morning from WKU that no one proposal received met all of the requirements of the RFP,” Thomas wrote. 

“We are, however, pleased to know that Medical Center Orthopaedics will continue to be the provider of orthopaedic care for student athletes for the remainder of the 2016-17 academic year. 

“Construction of a Sports Medicine Complex on the WKU campus was intended to accommodate the WKU Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program, which would have relocated from the Health Sciences Complex at The Medical Center. Space vacated by the DPT program would have been assigned to the new UK College of Medicine – Bowling Green campus. At this time, WKU and The Medical Center no longer plan to move the DPT program, and we have decided to proceed with construction of new space at The Medical Center for the UK College of Medicine – Bowling Green campus, which opens in 2018.”

Responses from Thomas for additional details, such as whether The Medical Center remains interested in the project, were not returned Monday. 

WKU issued a request for proposals Sept. 26 seeking a medical provider to construct the facility, provide orthopedic services to its student-athletes and lease the campus health clinic. 

“The university is willing to consider a long-term exclusive contract with the medical services provider that could include various health-related services in exchange for shared use of the facility constructed by the bidder,” the request for proposals said at the time. 

The sports complex was to include a sports medicine orthopaedic clinic; a baseball clubhouse, office and locker room; and an indoor practice facility for the Department of Athletics and WKU students. 

WKU set a deadline for returning proposals at Nov. 15. But now the university is seeking other options for the complex, WKU spokesman Bob Skipper said in an email requesting comment. 

“An indoor multi-sport complex remains a top priority for our Student Intramural-Recreation Sports office as well as for WKU Athletics,” Skipper wrote in the email. “We will continue to pursue options to build such a facility through private support or other means.”

Skipper declined to say how many proposals the university received or what was the hang-up in the process. 

“That information remains confidential since no contract will be awarded,” he wrote. 

Meanwhile, Graves-Gilbert Clinic will continue running an on-campus health clinic until Dec. 16. Skipper said who will run that clinic moving forward hasn’t been determined. 

“We are exploring our options, but our intention is to lease the space at fair market value,” he wrote.

Skipper elaborated when asked for more detail. 

“We plan to issue another RFP just for services to operate the health clinic, and a requirement of that will be a market rate lease of the space,” he wrote. “It will be used for the purpose for which it was built – a health clinic.”

Graves-Gilbert CEO Chris Thorn also said the clinic will continue to support WKU until the matter is settled.

“We’ll continue to support everybody until they resolve this,” he said. “We’re proud of what we’ve done at Western (Kentucky University).” 

WKU privatized its health services in the summer of 2014 to Graves-Gilbert Clinic in light of enrollment decline and a state funding cutback. 

Thorn said Graves-Gilbert has helped save the university money and providing convenient health care to WKU employees through a provider network that extends from Elizabethtown to Franklin. 

Thorn said Graves-Gilbert did not submit a proposal because the provider felt it couldn’t submit a quality bid because of the head start gained by other providers. However, Thorn said Graves-Gilbert remains open to working with WKU on the complex. 

“We’re not going to rule out anything,” he said. 

— Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @BGDN_edbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.