Wednesday, February 18, 2009

UNT mulls stadium architecture firms

By Mary Pharris of North Texas Daily

UNT's Fouts Field

The UNT Board of Regents selected Manhattan Construction to oversee the building of the new stadium at its meeting Friday.

The university received 10 proposals from different contractors and interviewed five. In the end, the university selected the firm that had the best value, said Richard Escalante, vice chancellor for administrative services.

UNT is currently negotiating its contract with the firm, he said. The contract will establish a preconstruction work fee, which includes constructability - working with the design of the building to maximize cost effectiveness, and value engineering - finding alternative materials if the desired materials are too expensive, Escalante said. "We have a good team together to build the stadium."

The contractor of the project is not only responsible for actually building the stadium, but works with the university and HKS Inc., the architecture firm designing the stadium, to ensure the design meets the needs of the university at the best value, he said. Once the design is complete, the firm will solicit bids from subcontractors who will lay concrete or install bleachers, Escalante said.

HKS Inc., a Dallas-based firm, also designed the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington and the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

While the initial estimated cost of the stadium was $60 million, Escalante said the cost has increased to $78 million, but as the project progresses the price could still change.

Students passed a referendum in October that stated the stadium would cost $60 million. The referendum increased the athletic student services fee to $7 per credit hour, according to an Oct. 21 Daily article, and the fee stays the same, despite jump in the building cost, said Eric Capper of the athletics department. State law dictates that students can only pay for half of the cost of the stadium, according to the same Daily article. Private donations pay for the other half, Capper said.

The university is working with corporations and private donors to raise money for the stadium, said Ann Clinkscales, senior associate athletic director for development. NT also has a core group of volunteers that have helped the university with its fundraising efforts by hosting events throughout the state and making calls to generate support for the stadium, she said.

The university will reveal the total amount of donations at the spring football game on April 4, Clinkscales said. There will be a tent at the location of the new stadium with food and other pre-game activities at noon before the 3 p.m. kickoff.

The university aims to begin construction on the stadium between November 2009 and February 2010, with 2011 being the stadium's inaugural football season, Escalante said.

Pegasus News content partner - North Texas Daily

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Comments

Scott Doyle Verified

What's another $18MM in a recession?

I loathe you people.

8 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )