Univ. of Arizona Pays Consultant $542K To Work On Facilities Plan

Most Immediate Project Would Be $82M Glass Building In North End Of Arizona Stadium

The Univ. of Arizona (UA) athletic department paid consulting company Sasaki Associates Inc. $542,095 to assist in the school's "master construction plan, with hopes it will be approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in December or January," according to Patrick Finley of the ARIZONA DAILY STAR. UA on September 1 announced the plan, which "upgrades every sports facility on campus," would cost $378M "in private donations, covering 12 major projects over the next 20 years or so." Sasaki, whose contract with UA began in June '08, provided UA with "data gathering and assessment, program development, market and financial analysis, a master plan design and analysis of current facilities." Sasaki in July also provided UA with "two reports, totaling 504 pages," the first of which "provided the plan and analysis; for every facility, Sasaki provided an assessment, proposed improvements and projected costs." UA Associate Dir for Facilities Design & Construction Peter Dourlein said the fee paid to Sasaki was "quite a bit lower than what we've seen in a lot of universities." UA AD Jim Livengood added of the master plan, "If you're an institute of higher education, anyone who isn't in some sort of strategic planning probably isn't going to make it." Finley noted the "most immediate project is an $82[M], four-story glass building in the north end of Arizona Stadium." Livengood: "We need to do some things to get more fans in Arizona Stadium." The following breaks down UA's contract with Sasaki Associates (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 9/20).

PHASE	DESCRIPTION	COST
1	Goal setting, data gathering and data assessment	$65,000
2	Program development, assessment of existing facilities, and market and financial analysis	$175,000
3	Master plan design	$225,000
4	Intercollegiate facilities analysis and master plan report	$25,000
	Amendments	$52,095