Monday, July 17, 2000

Stadium's final cost unknown

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By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer

STADIUM WALLPAPER Click on the right width for your monitor, then right click to Set As Wallpaper: (Glenn Hartong photos)

Paul Brown Stadium was aglow last weekend, the first time the switch was flipped on the brilliant lights. 600 | 800 | 1024

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        Pencils and erasers are replacing cranes and dump trucks as the most important tools at Paul Brown Stadium. With fewer than five weeks before the stadium opens, no one can say how much the new stadium will cost taxpayers.

        Already looking at a minimum $45 million in overruns — which would bump the price to $450 million — construction managers will be collecting bills and crunching numbers over the next few weeks to find the real bottom line.

        A public report on the stadium budget is due to Hamilton County commissioners Aug. 2.

        Plenty has changed since the stadium's construction managers' latest appearance before the county commis sioners on May 3.

        Then, the message was that the stadium was $46.5 million over budget but the extra $1.5 million would be covered by a contingency fund.

        More recently, Project Director W. Shelby Reaves said his crew has been working to cut costs because there have been several unanticipated increases in the expenses.

        Costs grew after city inspectors made demands before granting permits. For example, inspectors insisted that more fire sprinklers be installed before they allowed the Bengals' administrative offices to open June 26.

        “We had significant growth prior to those offices opening,” Mr. Reaves said. “One of the things we're working on is to identify the growth we've had. Back in January, when I made the overrun estimate, I had no way to anticipate the magnitude of those things.”

        Managers are trying to squeeze out some savings. About $500,000 might be saved in permits and other

        fees, while about $1 million in insurance costs might also move to the plus side of the ledger.

        “I'd say we've spent about $43.5 (million), and there are still significant challenges and unknowns out there,” Mr. Reaves said.

        And still months of work left.

        The first football game will be Aug. 19, but construction crews will continue working through year's end.

        That's fairly common, said Robert Dorsey, a professor of construction science at the University of Cincinnati, which offers degrees in construction management.

        Mr. Dorsey said it's also common on stadium projects not to know what the final cost will be until very late.

        Officials in Cleveland, for example, learned that Cleveland Browns Stadium was $65 million over budget only after the inaugural season.

        Mr. Dorsey said that adds another complication to the budget: Where does stadium construction end and stadium maintenance begin?

        “If the stadium hosts half a dozen games before final completion, someone will have a difficult decision to make as to what is construction and what is maintenance.”

        Mr. Reaves said the construction project team has been successful over the past few months in processing change orders so subcontractors doing the work can be paid.

        Managers are approving an average of about $2.6 million in changes every week.

        Change orders — when a contract is modified, usually to increase the scope and cost of work — have been identified by a construction auditor hired by Hamilton County as the main reason for the overruns.

        There was insufficient scrutiny of the changes as they came through the system, because there was not enough time to take a hard look at every one.

        Who pays for overruns is to be answered by negotiations between the county and the project team or by lawsuits.

        Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus would not say whether negotiations have begun or if lawsuits were inevitable.

       

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