The San Francisco 49ers selected Turner Construction to build their new stadium, and the general contractor was waiting last week to see which architect it will work with to deliver a design-build project, industry sources said.
The 49ers interviewed HKS, HNTB and HOK Sport officials two weeks ago at DeBartolo Corp. headquarters in Youngstown, Ohio. Denise DeBartolo York and John York are the team’s principal owners.
The team stated in the programming and design services proposal sent in February that an additional RFP would be issued for architectural design services, but that will not be the case, said a source familiar with the project. Turner and its design partner will carry the project through to its completion.
POOLED RESOURCES: Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders owner Mandalay Sports Entertainment expects to generate about $100,000 in revenue from a new swimming pool at three-year-old Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark.
 |
The Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders expect about $100,000
in revenue from a new swimming pool groups can rent
at Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark. |
Riverbend Sandler, a local pool supplier, built the area in the past month. The construction cost was included in the company’s seven-year sponsorship for the RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers’ Class AA affiliate, said RoughRiders president and general manager
Mike McCall.
The cost to rent the pool is $1,700 to $2,500 a game, depending on the time of year and day of the week. The package includes 25 game tickets, T-shirts and hats, a pool security attendant and a meal prepared by concessionaire Delaware North Sportservice.
Groups had booked the space for 26 games out of 70 on the home schedule as of last Monday, McCall said.
The three-tiered space contains lounge chairs and shaded tables, waterfalls and a wheel-chair lift to adhere to ADA guidelines.
The design differs from the flat concourse-style designs at two other Texas minor league ballparks with pools, in Round Rock and Corpus Christi, McCall said.
“I was astounded with the design,” he said.
The pool contains a chiller that cools the 3 1/2 to 4 feet of water during the intense Texas summer heat, McCall said.
INTERNATIONAL WINNERS: Ellerbe Becket and Turner teamed to win the job to design and build a $35 million expansion to FIU Stadium in Miami, home to Florida International University football.
The school was completing the contract terms last week, said Rick Mello, FIU’s athletic director.
The existing facility opened with 7,500 fixed seats in 1995, and temporary seating expands capacity to 17,103. FIU officials want the building to contain about 25,000 permanent seats and have the ability to expand to 50,000.
Dant Clayton, a Louisville, Ky.-based bleacher seat manufacturer, is part of the Ellerbe/Turner team, said Stuart Smith, Ellerbe’s director of business development. A new press box, 13 suites and 1,400 club seats are also part of the project.
The Golden Panthers tentatively plan to play their 2006 season at the facility, move 2007 home games to Orange Bowl Stadium and return to the renovated stadium in 2008, the Miami Herald reported.
FIU plays in the Sun Belt Conference and joins the NCAA Division I-A ranks full time as a program eligible to compete for a bowl berth after completing a two-year reclassification.
SPRINGFIELD SHOWDOWN: Crawford Architects, Ellerbe Becket, HNTB and 360 Architecture interview this week for the job to design the $60 million JQH Arena at Missouri State University in Springfield.
The facility is named for John Q. Hammons, the hotel magnate and Springfield resident committing $25 million in private money for the project. The school will rely on additional donations to fund the balance, said Doug Sampson, university architect.
The plan is for the arena to contain 12,000 fixed seats and 20 suites. Missouri State officials expect to select a designer this month, break ground by the end of 2006 and open the building in late 2008 or early 2009, Sampson said.
Hammons helped finance the cost to build two other facilities in town that bear his name: Hammons Student Center, Missouri State’s 30-year-old arena, which the new facility will attach to; and Hammons Field, the one-year-old Class AA ballpark where the Springfield Cardinals play.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
