Press Box project finished for season opener

hat seemed like an insurmountable task turned into a challenge that MU’s Planning, Design and Construction tackled head on and conquered. The Memorial Stadium Press Box Project was begun in November at the end of the 1999 football season and completed in time for MU’s Sept. 2, 2000, opening win against Western Illinois — a mere nine months later.

“The project succeeded because failure was not an option for us,” said Don Guckert, Planning, Design & Construction’s director. “More than anything, the workforce felt a loyalty and commitment to MU and MU Athletics.”

Thanks to the cooperation of MU Athletics, PD&C, architect Ellerbe Beckett, and contractor Walsh Construction, MU boasts one of the finest luxury suites and press boxes in the Big 12.

MU planned ahead to make the project run as smoothly as possible. Before construction began, Ellerbe-Beckett architects, MU and UM officials involved in the project toured renovated stadiums at Notre Dame and the University of Toledo; a similar team met with Walsh Construction owners in Chicago and visited the University of Kansas and Kansas State to learn from their press-box-and-suite projects, which were completed in September 1999.

Jim Henley, PD&C’s construction engineer on the project, also visited steel, precast and brick suppliers’ plants to secure personal and first-hand commitments to meeting critical delivery dates, and was in constant contact with several other vendors whose deliveries were critical.

Walsh, one of the 50 largest construction companies in the United States, was new to the mid-Missouri market and relied heavily on Construction Management’s contacts to secure local labor union workers, subcontractors and suppliers.

"On more than one occasion, the Walsh people said they had never worked with a more proactive owner than MU,” Guckert said. “We really appreciate the compliment and realize that everyone’s efforts helped in the success of the project. Mike Alden, for example, often took time to recognize the workforce, which helped motivate them to meet the deadline.”

In all, the press box and suites project, about 82 percent of the size of Reynolds Alumni Center, was completed in 291 days (See "Press Box & Suites Timeline). Reynolds, however, took 615 days to complete. Moreover, unlike the Reynolds Center, the press box project was built on “stilts” 80 feet in the air, which required that workers and materials be hoisted into place.

The contractor had to build at a rate of more than $1 million per month (or $50,000 per day), based on a five-day work week, to complete the project in time for the season opener.