Thursday, May 28, 1998BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hamilton County commissioners approved nearly $9 million Wednesday in construction contracts for the Bengals stadium, with winning bids coming in more than 30 percent under budget.
A contract worth about $1.6 million went to a minority-owned firm, accounting for 18 percent of the value of the four contracts awarded.
The county awarded bids to:
Village Building Services, an African-American owned business in Carthage. It bid about $1.6 million for underground plumbing work.
Arthur Electric Co., a Madisonville firm. It bid $258,000 for underground electrical work.
Moody's of Dayton Inc., a Miamisburg firm. It bid $940,000 to install pumps and wells to remove water from the stadium's underground structure, work that's necessary because of the riverfront site.
Baker Concrete Construction Inc., based in Monroe, Ohio. It bid about $6.1 million for underground concrete work and construction of a slab for the stadium.
Each of the companies was the lowest bidder for each contract. The four contracts total about $8.9 million, about $3.2 million less than the county's estimates for the work.
While county officials have been criticized for the $400.3 million cost of the Bengals stadium complex, bids for the stadium itself have been consistently under budget since construction started in January.
