Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Stadium overruns might exceed $45 million
Construction managers won't commit to price
By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Much work remains before the stadium opens Aug. 19.
(Tony Jones photo)
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There is no guarantee taxpayers won't have to open their wallets again to finish Paul Brown Stadium.
Hamilton County already has to cough up $45 million more than expected for the Bengals' new home, and construction managers say more problems could arise in coming months to make that figure grow.
Project Director W. Shelby Reaves, in a May 8 letter to Hamilton County officials, said the $45 million in cost overruns is a 3-month-old estimate, and the county can't assume the overruns are over.
“There are many unknowns that may still find their way into the project and perhaps significantly impact the final cost,” Mr. Reaves, who works for Turner Barton Malow D.A.G., told the county.
“With the continuing growth in the scope of work, it is inappropriate for the county to attempt to unilaterally translate that (3) month old prediction into a new contract obligation.”
Although Mr. Reaves declined to be interviewed, Project Manager Dan Streyle said he thinks keeping the overruns at $45 million is possible.
“All Shelby was trying to do was highlight the fact that some of this is not within any of our control,” Mr. Streyle said. “We want people to understand there is risk out there.
“We are managing that to the best of our ability. But if we find a code problem, or something that doesn't work, we must get it fixed.”
Mr. Reaves' letter, obtained by The Cincinnati Enquirer through an Ohio Open Records request, talks about three areas of particular concern:
• Code-driven changes. These are things such as escalator canopies, which were not originally designed for the project but are being required before a certificate of occupancy is granted.
Other changes required by inspectors include additional sprinklers, fire alarms, smoke detec tors and exhaust vents.
• Design modifications because the materials do not work with current drawings.
• Contractor claims because of changes in the schedule or work requirements. These claims usually come at the end of the project and are a result of individual contractors being forced to do more work than expected, work faster than expected, or work in a different sequence than expected.
Whatever the change, the result is a higher cost to the contractor, which will be passed on to the county.
County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus drew a line in concrete last month, saying the county would not pay anything above $45 million.
Mr. Bedinghaus said he thinks the overruns will stay at $45 million, although he acknowledged the county would have to cover any additional costs if they do happen.
“I don't have any concern,” Mr. Bedinghaus said. “Everybody's lawyers are involved at this point. So you have people wanting to make sure that, legally, they're not entering into some sort of oral contract.
“I hesitate to hold someone to words that their lawyer is telling them they have to say.”
Commissioner John Dowlin, who two weeks ago had equally tough words about not paying additional overruns, said he stands by his.
“Our position is that they've got to find a way to do it for $45 million,” Mr. Dowlin said. “We expect them to live by their earlier estimate.”
Mr. Reaves' letter was in response to one sent to him six days earlier by John Michel, deputy director of the county's Department of Public Works.
Mr. Michel said in his May 2 correspondence that the county is about to allocate money to cover the cost overruns. County officials already have given the construction team $14.4 million, and will cut a check for the other $31 million in the coming weeks.
The $450 million football complex is being paid for with a half-penny sales tax increase, passed by voters in 1997.
The cost overruns — which are a result of hundreds of changes to individual contracts that increase the scope and cost of work — were first announced in February, although county commissioners knew of the overruns since August 1999.
A construction auditor hired by the county reported the changes happened because the county bid on contracts based on incomplete design drawings.
Mr. Streyle said the stadium will open as scheduled Aug. 19 for the Bengals' first home preseason game.
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