The Padres announced that San Diego Ballpark Builders,
a joint venture comprised of MD-based Clark Construction
Group, CA-based Nielsen Dillingham Builders and CA-based
Douglas E. Barnhart, has been selected as the general
contractor for the city's downtown ballpark project. Clark
worked with HOK+LOB Sport on Camden Yards, as well as on
many other sports facilities, while Nielsen Dillingham was
the general contractor for the expansion and renovation of
Qualcomm Stadium and Douglas E. Barnhart worked on Tony
Gwynn Stadium at S.D. State Univ (Padres). In San Diego,
Philip LaVelle added that San Diego Ballpark Builders "was
selected from a field of five competitors." The $220M
contract "covers ballpark construction only" and will be
"capped at" $267.5M, with the Padres paying any cost
overruns, according to the deal between the city and the
team was approved by voters in November '98. The city will
have separate contracts for "ballpark infrastructure work"
and the new hotel, office, retail and residential
development that is planned along with the ballpark, which
is "estimated at" a total of $411M, though that figure "is
already on the rise." Padres Exec VP & COO Jack McGrory
called the selection of a contractor "an important step
forward." LaVelle wrote that barring any delays -- "legal
and financing troubles threaten to sideline the project
indefinitely" (see THE DAILY, 1/6) -- facility
groundbreaking can occur by May 1 (UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/11).
