JimBob
12-21-2007, 01:32 PM
End zone making progress
By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
12/21/2007
The last steel beam is placed in the northwest corner.
STILLWATER -- Teamwork is vital for success on the football field. The same holds true for the successful construction of a football stadium.
From the design plan of Tulsa-based Sparks Sports architects to the Flintco Cos. construction crew to the hierarchy of the Oklahoma State athletic department, teamwork has been a common thread in making the west end zone project at Boone Pickens Stadium a success.
"From the very beginning, we said this was a three-legged stool with OSU being one leg, Sparks being another leg and Flintco being one leg," said Jim Heley, Flintco's senior project manager on the stadium project. "It takes all three for it to stand up and look good."
Another step was taken Thursday to bring the project closer to reality.
Flintco hosted a project "topping off" ceremony, where the highest structural point in the building construction has been attained. To celebrate, the last steel beam, which was painted in OSU orange, was signed by the iron workers on the project and hoisted into place in the northwest corner of the end zone structure.
An evergreen tree normally is customarily placed on the beam to symbolize that the building project has proceeded well, without injury, and as a good luck charm for the occupants of the building.
In this instance, a Christmas tree decorated in orange lights was placed on the center part of the beam and was flanked by a United States flag and an OSU flag.
Heley said the project is ahead of schedule, despite dealing with nasty winter conditions last January, excessive rain in May and June, and extreme heat in August.
"This is significant," OSU athletic director Mike Holder said. "We had a stadium that was an embarrassment, that rusted out and that we didn't spend any money on for 30 years.
"Now, when this is finished, we will have a stadium that every OSU alum and supporter will be proud of."
For the past two years, the teams at Sparks, Flintco and OSU have been working together on the $180 million end zone project. The precast concrete for the 13,500-seat seating bowl has been in place for two months now.
The steel for the new coaching offices, as well as the club and suite levels, are in position and being welded together.
The lower bowl seating will be ready next season.
The office, club and suite levels along with the locker room, training room, equipment room and dining room, will be completed prior to the 2009 season.
But despite the various extreme weather conditions, Heley said the belief in teamwork between Flintco, Sparks and OSU has helped make sure the project was able to proceed.
Holder and Sparks Sports project manager David Reed agree.
"It does take a team for this to work," Holder said. "I think the project has unmatched quality, and the quality has gotten better from Phase I (the stadium's south side suites and club level) to Phase II (the north side suites and club level) and now to Phase III."
Said Reed: "We have that team relationship. Seeing how (the construction crew) in the field has put our plan together is awe-inspiring. Hats off to them. We think about it and think about how it should look. But the guys here at OSU and Flintco are the ones who have made it work."
By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
12/21/2007
The last steel beam is placed in the northwest corner.
STILLWATER -- Teamwork is vital for success on the football field. The same holds true for the successful construction of a football stadium.
From the design plan of Tulsa-based Sparks Sports architects to the Flintco Cos. construction crew to the hierarchy of the Oklahoma State athletic department, teamwork has been a common thread in making the west end zone project at Boone Pickens Stadium a success.
"From the very beginning, we said this was a three-legged stool with OSU being one leg, Sparks being another leg and Flintco being one leg," said Jim Heley, Flintco's senior project manager on the stadium project. "It takes all three for it to stand up and look good."
Another step was taken Thursday to bring the project closer to reality.
Flintco hosted a project "topping off" ceremony, where the highest structural point in the building construction has been attained. To celebrate, the last steel beam, which was painted in OSU orange, was signed by the iron workers on the project and hoisted into place in the northwest corner of the end zone structure.
An evergreen tree normally is customarily placed on the beam to symbolize that the building project has proceeded well, without injury, and as a good luck charm for the occupants of the building.
In this instance, a Christmas tree decorated in orange lights was placed on the center part of the beam and was flanked by a United States flag and an OSU flag.
Heley said the project is ahead of schedule, despite dealing with nasty winter conditions last January, excessive rain in May and June, and extreme heat in August.
"This is significant," OSU athletic director Mike Holder said. "We had a stadium that was an embarrassment, that rusted out and that we didn't spend any money on for 30 years.
"Now, when this is finished, we will have a stadium that every OSU alum and supporter will be proud of."
For the past two years, the teams at Sparks, Flintco and OSU have been working together on the $180 million end zone project. The precast concrete for the 13,500-seat seating bowl has been in place for two months now.
The steel for the new coaching offices, as well as the club and suite levels, are in position and being welded together.
The lower bowl seating will be ready next season.
The office, club and suite levels along with the locker room, training room, equipment room and dining room, will be completed prior to the 2009 season.
But despite the various extreme weather conditions, Heley said the belief in teamwork between Flintco, Sparks and OSU has helped make sure the project was able to proceed.
Holder and Sparks Sports project manager David Reed agree.
"It does take a team for this to work," Holder said. "I think the project has unmatched quality, and the quality has gotten better from Phase I (the stadium's south side suites and club level) to Phase II (the north side suites and club level) and now to Phase III."
Said Reed: "We have that team relationship. Seeing how (the construction crew) in the field has put our plan together is awe-inspiring. Hats off to them. We think about it and think about how it should look. But the guys here at OSU and Flintco are the ones who have made it work."