The proposed CSU on-campus stadium is expected to take 22 months to build, barring significant weather delays, said Icon Venue Group, hired by the university to oversee construction. Below is a timeline of expected events, provided with help from Icon and CSU.

Ready to build

Financing has been approved and $220 million in bonds have been sold to finance construction of the stadium. The 635,000-square feet facility will have about 36,000 seats and total capacity of 40,085, according to the official statement accompanying the bond sales.

The contractors who will build CSU's new on-campus stadium have guaranteed that it won't cost the university more than $220 million.

Cost overruns, which stadium critics say are inevitable and could top $100 million, will be covered by the contractors involved and not the university — unless CSU were to "change the scope of the project" along the way, said Mike Harms, senior vice president for Icon Venue Group, the project manager for the stadium.

That's because there is a guaranteed price clause in contracts signed by Icon and general contractor Mortenson Construction, Harms said.

The $220 million price tag for the stadium project is realistic and in "current dollars," Harms said. It has undergone several "price checks" since the original plans were proposed in May 2012.

The guaranteed maximum price clause is often used in state construction contracts, said Sabrina D'Agosta, Colorado's director of policy and communications. A spokesperson for Mortenson referred all questions concerning stadium construction to Icon.

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CSU sold the bonds to finance construction of 643,000-square-foot stadium with a total capacity of 40,085 last month. So now the project, which generated extensive controversy over cost and financing, moves into the construction phase.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for July 1, but stadium-related construction already is underway a few blocks away.

The walls are going up on a relocated, $7.5 million Plant Environmental Research Center on Bay Drive, south of Prospect Road and west of Centre Avenue. The existing PERC facility, off Lake Street, is on the site where the new stadium will be built.

The new PERC facility should be up and running by mid-July, Harms said. Some gardens will be left intact until Oct. 1, PERC director Jim Klatt said last fall, to accommodate ongoing research projects.

Bids for subcontractors for the stadium will go out in July, Harms said, after the final construction specifications and documents are completed.

"We know the number of luxury boxes, we know the number of seats, we know all those kinds of things," Harms said. "Now, you can still move a wall here and there, a room here and there and that kind of stuff. But now it's taking that vision and putting it into construction documents that can be used to build from."

Stadium construction timeline

July 1

•Fencing will be put up around stadium site.

•Asphalt from parking lots at stadium site to be milled so material can be recycled and used as base material for new surface lot on east side of Centre Avenue west of the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

•Parking lots will be bulldozed to dirt to provide underground access for utility work and excavation.

Mid-July

•Work on utility lines is set for summer to minimize impact on traffic during the academic year.

•A stormwater quality pond will be built on CSU-owned land behind the Hilton Fort Collins, east of Centre Avenue and north of Spring Creek.

• The relocated Plant Environmental Research Center will open along Bay Drive south of Prospect Road and west of Centre Avenue.

• Demolition will begin on old PERC buildings and greenhouses following opening of new facility.

Mid-September

•Excavation begins on the stadium site, and the foundation work begins.

Oct. 1

• Remaining PERC gardens bulldozed to dirt following completion of growing season.

December-August 2016

•The stadium starts to take shape three months into construction as the project starts to build upward. Drilled caissons are installed for vertical support along with raker beams to hold up the stadium's seating bowl. Formation would consist of concrete and structural steel.

May 2015-April 2016

•Glass curtainwall, stone, brick, precast concrete and metal wall panels are installed around the exterior of the venue, a process expected to last seven months.

•On the inside, all fixtures like lighting and electrical outlets are configured along with heating, cooling and emergency systems. Interior work happens in conjunction with the exterior, but will take five months longer to complete.

September 2016-May 2017

•Locker rooms, football operations offices, press boxes, suites and concession kitchens are built

•Lights will attached on top of the west grandstand

•Seats installed to the stadium bowl

March 2017

•Artificial turf installed on playing field and goal posts erected

June 2017-August 2017

•Building systems undergo final testing and approval

•Branding added to the outside of stadium structure

•Furniture installed

September 2017

•Stadium opens. CSU will be able to play its first football game in the new stadium as early as Sept. 9, against an opponent to be determined. The Rams open the 2017 season Sept. 2 in Denver against the University of Colorado.

Some design details that won't have an impact on early construction are still being modified, Harms said. So we don't yet know the precise number of seats the stadium will contain or the number and locations of concessions and restroom facilities or details about where the university will allow tailgating and alcohol sales and consumption on game days.

But we do know:

•The basic structure will have about 36,000 seats and a total capacity of 40,085.

•It will consist of two decks of seating on the east and west sides of the playing field, and three stories of luxury suites, coaches booths and a press box on the west side.

•The north end zone will open up toward campus with some open seating and standing-room capacity for fan.

•The support for the stadium will be built of steel, with an exterior covered by stone, brick, glass and metal.

 

Lighting and sound

• The stadium will use a directed lighting system to minimize the impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

• It will have an upgraded distributed sound system to minimize "leakage" into the surrounding area.

 

Amenities

The current plans call for:

•17 luxury suites

•40 large boxes seating four people each

•96 indoor club seats

•800 outdoor club seats

•Student seating along the east side and into the south end zone

Those figures, posted last month on the "frequently asked questions" of CSU's stadium website, colostate.edu/stadium, could change as the final design plans are completed.

Other amenities:

•A high-quality wireless Internet system for fans throughout the stadium and

•A wide array of concession choices in and around the main concourse level.

•The stadium will be designed to meet all Americans with Disability Act accessibility requirements, with premium seating ADA options and access.

 

 

coloradoan.com

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