Arena beats time, money for big wins
Nearly done building to debut Friday, within $265 million budget
RICHARD RUBIN, Staff Writer
Even before they broke ground on Charlotte Bobcats Arena in 2003, city officials chanted their mantra: “On time and on budget.”
Despite their determination, several factors worked against them: a tight urban site, soaring materials prices and a complicated project that was still being designed as it was built.
And yet, when the city’s $265 million building opens Friday, it will be ahead of schedule and within budget.
The final costs won’t be tallied for months, but Mayor Pat McCrory is grateful for the good news. On the arena’s main concourse last week, he gave City Engineer Jim Schumacher a hearty pat on the back.
“This guy deserves a medal of honor, a financial medal of honor,” McCrory beamed. “I hug him every day.”
Schumacher shrugged. A solid team, thoughtful planning and a little luck made the difference, he said.
The first important decisions came before the city broke ground in 2003. Already wary of cost, Charlotte and its architects shrank the arena, cutting out 43,000 square feet, a fountain and decorative metalwork.
Charlotte also locked in its prices for steel and concrete early, avoiding the sharp increases that plagued other projects, including the light-rail line.
“Just pure, dumb luck on the timing was in our favor,” said William Haas, the city’s arena project manager. “If you tried to build this building now with the same plans, it would probably be 10-15 percent more.”
Although Schumacher and his staff supervised the project, they left the day-to-day management to Arizona-based Hunt Construction Group, which builds arenas and stadiums around the country.
City officials relied on Hunt’s expertise to manage more than 50 subcontractors and make sure the work was coordinated. At one point, 700 people worked on the project.
Hunt officials declined to comment for this article.
Throughout the project, Schumacher said, the city looked for ways to save money, to “massage the design” in progress.
For example, although the arena's atrium has terrazzo floors, the rest of the concourses are made of plain concrete. If there’s enough money left over, the terrazzo could expand.
City officials also stuck to their “on time, on budget” tune.
“We said: A lot of you have worked on other projects where you had the budget and at the end of the day something happened and you could add $5 million. But there is no pot at the end of the rainbow here. When we say it, we mean it,” Haas said.
A few areas are still not finished, including the retail space along Trade Street and team owner Bob Johnson’s office. But the public parts of the building are ready, ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline. The arena received its temporary certificate of occupancy Saturday.
“It needs a shave and a haircut,” Haas said, “but they’re going to get there.”
© 2005 Charlotte Observer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
Besides hosting “Mick Jagger and the boys,” the new arena also is the home of the NBA Bobcats, the WNBA Sting and the minor league Checkers hockey club. The Bobcats play their home opener Nov. 5.
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