Word of a new ballpark for the Red Sox might have put tears in the eyes of the Fenway faithful, but it certainly put a smile on a construction industry hoping to get in on what is expected to be a $545 million project. Of the contractors based here in Rhode Island there appeared to be very few that would not be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project, aside from maybe a Gilbane Building Company or Cardi Construction Corporation.
“That’s a big one, a huge project. I don’t know of many companies that could handle that, but I wouldn’t rule out any,” said Eric Frank Anderson, executive director of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America.
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The plan for the new stadium is a classic open-air ballpark modeled after Fenway Park, that the Red Sox hope to see the first pitch in the new stadium as early as 2003.
The new ballpark is being designed by HOK Architects of Kansas City.
Anderson said developers of such a project will be looking for contractors that are not only big, but have experience.
“The main thing will be the company’s experience on projects of this size, projects between $400 million to $500 million.” he explained. “A company’s financial wherewithal and its bonding capacity are also very important.”
Anderson said Gilbane is big enough to be a player in this project. He said other members of his group that could handle the job would be Morse Diesel International, Inc., Turner Construction Company and Kiewit Construction, all of which are not located in Rhode Island, but have operations in Massachusetts.
Cardi Construction Corporation of Warwick is another company that wouldn’t mind getting in on the new Fenway Park.
“Naturally you want to give it a shot,” said Stephen Cardi, the company’s executive vice president. “We do certain types of work, like foundations, site work and heavy duty concrete. Those are areas we would be interested in looking at.”
Cardi said his company has been doing work in Massachusetts for over 30 years, but still wonders if that is enough .
“It depends on whether or not the work is available because there are so many local contractors right there in the immediate area,” he said.
Eric S. Ahlborg, vice president of construction at O. Ahlborg & Son, Inc. of Cranston, agreed.
“There are a number of contractors in the Massachusetts area that have local unions and political affiliations,” said Ahlborg, whose company has a Boston office.
He said that it remains to be seen whether his company would take a shot at the work. It’s a decision that could come down to how the work is offered.
“It depends on the contract requirements that might dictate that a joint venture be formed. For example, bonding for a job that size has certain requirements, which dictate that a joint venture be formed,” Ahlborg said. Such was the case with the company’s recent renovation and expansion of McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, which was a joint venture with Heery International, headquartered in Atlanta.
In some cases, assisting in the construction of a 44,000-seat stadium is just out of reach.
A.F. Lusi Construction, Inc., of Greenville is among the larger general contractors in the state, but doesn’t have the resources to consider such a behemoth job.
“It’s beyond our scope. Right now we are working on projects that are much smaller. Maybe in a few years this would interest us, but right now it doesn’t,” said John Lusi, the company’s director of communications.
Lusi said missing out on building a new Fenway Park is the least of his concerns.
“We have more than enough work right now to begin with. Things are busy in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut to keep us busy,” he added.
Cardi said, “That project would be the kind that we would easily leave along if work is strong in Rhode Island and Connecticut to begin with.”
