The University of Arkansas System board of trustees approved Tuesday a swap of construction management/general contracting firms for its flagship campus's proposed stadium expansion.
Trustees gave the go-ahead for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to select CDI/Hunt Joint Ventures of Little Rock, Fayetteville and Scottsdale, Ariz. The green light came after trustees expressed concerns over how often the UA System schools recycled the same general contracting firms for their projects.
Flintco LLC of Springdale and Tulsa had been named the construction management/general contracting firm for the project in 2013, but that was when the university was conducting a feasibility study for the stadium expansion.
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"All we're doing is filling in where we need this contract manager," Trustee Cliff Gibson of Monticello said. "That is so the planning part of this can continue. This is not giving final approval to the expansion at this time."
In January, the UA System board gave the UA an initial nod to get full design and cost estimates for a plan that would close off the north end zone of the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and add some 3,200 seats in its place. The university has for years wanted to fully enclose the 78-year-old stadium, which now seats 72,000 and averaged 70,281 attendees at its six home games in 2015.
Trustee David Pryor of Little Rock had abstained from that vote, saying he had several questions about the project and wanted to ensure the board was being a good steward of taxpayer money. Officials have estimated that the project will cost $160 million, with $40 million in private funds and a $120 million bond issue.
In part, Pryor questioned how one of the largest bond issues in the UA System would result in just 3,200 seats, when an earlier $100 million bond issue in 2000 led to 22,000 seats.
Pryor did not attend Tuesday's meeting after he experienced chest pressure Monday night. He went to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he was monitored for 24 hours, UA System President Donald Bobbitt said, adding that the former U.S. senator and governor is expected to be fine.
On Monday, Pryor sent a note to UA Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz, UA Athletic Director Jeff Long and Bobbitt with a list of 33 questions about the project.
[Download PDF of Pryor's note, questions]
"It is very possible that this stadium project and related bond issue will become the largest commitment in our state's higher education history, and I urge caution before we embark," he wrote. "In a time when higher education across the nation is receiving extraordinary scrutiny and examination on issues like tuition, soaring student debt, and flat or declining state appropriations for higher education, we, as trustees, have a special duty to speak to these concerns."
The questions ranged from costs to competitive bidding and even whether the school's athletic department could use some of its revenue for academic purposes. He also asked about seating for students and the general public, along with parking.
Preliminary estimates show the additions include 2,297 club seats, 384 suite seats and 368 box seats.
The box seats would consist of clusters of four to eight seats separated from others by partitions. The new seating area will connect the concourse to the east and west walkways, improving the stadium's safety and security systems.
The project also includes a new game-day locker room and training room, along with new entrances.
Plans include new elevators at the northeast and northwest corners and a new video board at the south end of the stadium. The project also calls for redoing the Broyles Athletic Center, which is at the north end zone and will jut into the parking lot.
On Tuesday, UA System trustees named a different general contractor/construction manager than one selected in 2013. At that time, trustees had approved the hiring of Flintco LLC, documents show.
In the second go-round, five firms participating in competitive bidding, and four were interviewed. UA narrowed the list down to two -- CDI/Hunt Joint Ventures and Mortensen/Nabholz -- based on past and current experience.
Trustee John Goodson of Texarkana, who heads the building and grounds committee, had asked UA System staff members for a list of all the general contractors the system's schools have used since 2000. He said he noticed that over the last few years, the board had approved the selection of general contractors seven times, with one company receiving four projects, another with two and yet another with one.
"The different campuses don't really know what the other campuses are doing," Goodson said. "Oftentimes, it's been said that one general contractor may come up and get four, five bids in a row from different campuses."
Mike Johnson, UA's associate vice chancellor for facilities, said schools look at experience in working with auniversity and in that type of project. Each firm brings its own team to the table, he said, adding that they look at the preconstruction team, the construction team and local experience.
And there's a unique element to the stadium project, he said.
"We don't build large-value stadiums very often," he said. "And there's not that many firms nationally that do that."
Metro on 03/30/2016
