The AP's Danica Kirka noted British officials "showed off a new apartment Tuesday in the athletes village for the 2012 London Olympics as they announced a milestone -- more than 2,012 of the units are now complete." U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media & Sport Jeremy Hunt and Olympic Delivery Authority CEO Dennis Hone declared that the project is "firmly on schedule for the games that begin July 27 and last until Aug. 12." Some 17,000 Olympic athletes and 6,000 Paralympic athletes and officials "will stay in the village, which will have 2,818 units when completed" (AP, 10/25).
FAST FORWARD: Mortenson Construction, which is advising the Vikings on stadium plans in Arden Hills, said that Minnesota officials "have it wrong and that there is enough time to build the project by 2015." The company said that if state legislators "approve the Arden Hills project by the end of this year, the stadium would be ready by the team's 2015 season." Mortenson Senior VP John Wood in a letter released yesterday said that the schedule "was aggressive but was 'very adequate.'" The Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission two weeks ago "concluded that the proposed $1.1 billion project in Arden Hills was 'aggressive' and 'unrealistic'" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/26).
UPON FURTHER REVIEW: In Orlando, Schlueb & Damron note Orange County auditors after two years of scrutiny "gave the Orlando Magic and Orlando a largely glowing grade for the construction" of Amway Center. The audit did, however, document a "few problem areas." The building is owned by the city and was funded mostly with public funds, but the project agreement "failed to make sure no public money was spent on furnishings in areas of the arena where the public isn't allowed." Also, Hunt Construction Group, the Magic's general contractor, "was slow to pay subcontractors." Auditors "recommended that in the future, more documentation be required when construction contracts are bid" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/26).
