State Fairgrounds

[warreng88]

Got this e-mail today:

Council approves plans for the MAPS 3 State Fair Park expo building

Today the Oklahoma City Council approved final plans for Phase 2 of the MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds project which is a new 279,000-square-foot expo center building. The expo center will offer 201,000-square-foot of contiguous floor space at State Fair Park, among other amenities. Once complete, the building will be the largest event space in Oklahoma City.

Construction on the expo building will begin shortly after the 2014 State Fair and is expected to be completed early 2016. It will be built where the Travel & Transportation Building, Carriage Hall and courtyard are today.

“This new expo building will allow us to elevate our position in the marketplace and give us an edge in attracting a different type of regional and national show that has previously bypassed Oklahoma City due to our inability to provide the necessary square footage under one roof,” said Tim O’Toole, President & CEO, Oklahoma State Fair, Inc.

The expo building’s modern design will feature a 12,000-square-foot lobby, concession areas, a ticket space, commercial kitchen and additional parking for 500 cars with a total of more than 2,000 cars including Phase 1 improvements. A combination of glass and translucent wall panels will create an open, light-filled entrance. The building was designed with maximum flexibility in mind. The open floor plan will allow for a variety of configurations depending on the event’s specific needs including banquet and catering facilities equipped to serve in excess of 3,500.

The MAPS 3 budget for the expo building is $54 million, allowing $44 million for actual construction. An additional $4.7 million in MAPS 3 funds are being invested in new parking lots and other site improvements, separate from this project. The expo building’s construction is one among a series of improvements taking place at State Fair Park.

The MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Subcommittee provides guidance to the project and is made up of nine mayor-appointed citizens: Chairman Bob Nelon, Vice Chair Dee Morales, Ann Simank, J. Blake Wade, Mike Turpen, Chris Turner, Eric Roberts, Tim O’Toole, Shawn D. Clark and Madeline Mitchell. Every MAPS 3 project is currently underway, either in planning, design, construction or land acquisition.

MAPS 3 updates are available by subscribing to the MAPS 3 e-newsletter at City of Oklahoma City | Public Information & Marketing. Updates are also available on http://www.twitter.com/maps3 and www.facebook.com/maps3okc. Log on to City of Oklahoma City | Public Information & Marketing for project details and to read the implementation plan.

About MAPS 3
MAPS 3 is a $777 million construction program designed to improve the quality of life in Oklahoma City. It is funded by a one-cent sales tax initiative that began in April 2010 and ends in December 2017. MAPS 3 funds eight projects: Downtown Convention Center, Downtown Public Park, Modern Streetcar/Transit, Oklahoma River Improvements, Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Improvements, Senior Health and Wellness Centers, Trails and Sidewalks.

[jn1780]

Got this e-mail today:

Council approves plans for the MAPS 3 State Fair Park expo building

Today the Oklahoma City Council approved final plans for Phase 2 of the MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds project which is a new 279,000-square-foot expo center building. The expo center will offer 201,000-square-foot of contiguous floor space at State Fair Park, among other amenities. Once complete, the building will be the largest event space in Oklahoma City.

Construction on the expo building will begin shortly after the 2014 State Fair and is expected to be completed early 2016. It will be built where the Travel & Transportation Building, Carriage Hall and courtyard are today.

“This new expo building will allow us to elevate our position in the marketplace and give us an edge in attracting a different type of regional and national show that has previously bypassed Oklahoma City due to our inability to provide the necessary square footage under one roof,” said Tim O’Toole, President & CEO, Oklahoma State Fair, Inc.

The expo building’s modern design will feature a 12,000-square-foot lobby, concession areas, a ticket space, commercial kitchen and additional parking for 500 cars with a total of more than 2,000 cars including Phase 1 improvements. A combination of glass and translucent wall panels will create an open, light-filled entrance. The building was designed with maximum flexibility in mind. The open floor plan will allow for a variety of configurations depending on the event’s specific needs including banquet and catering facilities equipped to serve in excess of 3,500.

The MAPS 3 budget for the expo building is $54 million, allowing $44 million for actual construction. An additional $4.7 million in MAPS 3 funds are being invested in new parking lots and other site improvements, separate from this project. The expo building’s construction is one among a series of improvements taking place at State Fair Park.

The MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Subcommittee provides guidance to the project and is made up of nine mayor-appointed citizens: Chairman Bob Nelon, Vice Chair Dee Morales, Ann Simank, J. Blake Wade, Mike Turpen, Chris Turner, Eric Roberts, Tim O’Toole, Shawn D. Clark and Madeline Mitchell. Every MAPS 3 project is currently underway, either in planning, design, construction or land acquisition.

MAPS 3 updates are available by subscribing to the MAPS 3 e-newsletter at City of Oklahoma City | Public Information & Marketing. Updates are also available on http://www.twitter.com/maps3 and www.facebook.com/maps3okc. Log on to City of Oklahoma City | Public Information & Marketing for project details and to read the implementation plan.

About MAPS 3
MAPS 3 is a $777 million construction program designed to improve the quality of life in Oklahoma City. It is funded by a one-cent sales tax initiative that began in April 2010 and ends in December 2017. MAPS 3 funds eight projects: Downtown Convention Center, Downtown Public Park, Modern Streetcar/Transit, Oklahoma River Improvements, Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Improvements, Senior Health and Wellness Centers, Trails and Sidewalks.

So no car show for the 2015 fair since they have to demolish the building?

[warreng88]

So no car show for the 2015 fair since they have to demolish the building?

Could it be moved to another building?

[jn1780]

Could it be moved to another building?

They pretty much use every building. Could be a situation where the building is not done, but they have an enclosed shell of a building they can use and final work takes place after the fair.

[mugofbeer]

The State Fairgrounds are a sad shell of what they used to be. As badly in need of maintenance as some of the facilities were, seems the monorail and raceway could have been saved. I loved hearing the stock cars on weekend nights. I see no character there anymore -

[Bill Robertson]

So no car show for the 2015 fair since they have to demolish the building?

I do electrical work for the Auto Show every year. They don't use the Modern Living building and they will use it to replace the T&T building until the new building is complete. Then all the new cars will be in the new building with the antique cars, hot rods and misc. displays being in the International and Made In Oklahoma buildings.

[Bullbear]

I like the idea of the extra space to help get other conventions. however I feel the design is just a big barn.. they kinda phoned it in
seems it wouldn't have taken much to make it a bit more interesting.

[Bill Robertson]

I like the idea of the extra space to help get other conventions. however I feel the design is just a big barn.. they kinda phoned it in
seems it wouldn't have taken much to make it a bit more interesting.

First, I have no artistic ability. Where this type of building is concerned I can't see past function being way more important than form. I could never be a designer. Please keep that in mind.

Having said that I can't see how a big, open space building needs a great deal of design. It must provide its intended function. It needs to be big. It needs to have a lot of wide-open floor space. It needs adequate restroom and concession facilities. It needs to make visitors look at the displays on the floor, not be taken in by the wow factor of the building. The building is not intended to be and will never be an attraction in and of itself. A huge, concrete floored barn with adequate lighting, electrical and data connections throughout, and adequate facilities pretty much fits the need.

[HangryHippo]

I like the idea of the extra space to help get other conventions. however I feel the design is just a big barn.. they kinda phoned it in
seems it wouldn't have taken much to make it a bit more interesting.

I feel the same. Looks like they're just building a big barn.

Of course, I think Dallas has a really beautiful fair park, but they don't build them like that anymore.

[Bullbear]

First, I have no artistic ability. Where this type of building is concerned I can't see past function being way more important than form. I could never be a designer. Please keep that in mind.

Having said that I can't see how a big, open space building needs a great deal of design. It must provide its intended function. It needs to be big. It needs to have a lot of wide-open floor space. It needs adequate restroom and concession facilities. It needs to make visitors look at the displays on the floor, not be taken in by the wow factor of the building. The building is not intended to be and will never be an attraction in and of itself. A huge, concrete floored barn with adequate lighting, electrical and data connections throughout, and adequate facilities pretty much fits the need.

Yes it needs all of those things internally.. however the outside can be interesting architecturally and still have all the bones it needs to be a successfull space.

[SOONER8693]

The State Fairgrounds are a sad shell of what they used to be. As badly in need of maintenance as some of the facilities were, seems the monorail and raceway could have been saved. I loved hearing the stock cars on weekend nights. I see no character there anymore -

Agree. The Oklahoma state fair and fairgrounds is a joke, compared to what it used to be. Sad.

[Spartan]

Agree. The Oklahoma state fair and fairgrounds is a joke, compared to what it used to be. Sad.

If it was a true money maker, a replacement would have been built. Either by the city or a private venture. Obviously not worth the investment to even maintain the building....I watched races there a few times. Sometimes it's okay to just let things go. I understand the nostalgia of the fair. Loved the monorail, loved riding the space needle, love the bubble roofed building. I miss those things, but if they are money pits and only used a few times a year and produce no income, they are a waste of taxpayer dollars.

I haven't been to the Fair since I was a kid since I'm usually too busy in he Fall since college and graduating and working non stop, but the Fairgrounds have basically been expunged of all the mid-century landmarks?

So what exactly is of value to go and see there? Just some sheds to showcase horses and new RV shows?

[warreng88]

Council awards construction contract for MAPS 3 State Fair Park expo building

Today the Oklahoma City Council awarded a contract to Atlas Construction to build a new 279,000-square-foot expo building at State Fair Park as part of the MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Improvements project.

The expo building will offer 201,000-square-foot of contiguous floor space at State Fair Park, among other amenities. Once complete, the building will be the largest event space in Oklahoma City.

Site and foundation work for the building will begin shortly after the Oklahoma State Fair ends. It will be built where the Travel & Transportation Building, Carriage Hall and courtyard are today. The building will open in 2016.

The expo building’s modern design will feature a 12,000-square-foot lobby, concession areas, a ticket space, commercial kitchen and additional parking for 500 cars with a total of more than 2,000 cars including Phase 1 improvements. A combination of glass and translucent wall panels will create an open, light-filled entrance. The building was designed with maximum flexibility in mind. The open floor plan will allow for a variety of configurations depending on the event’s specific needs including banquet and catering facilities equipped to serve in excess of 3,500.

The MAPS 3 budget for the expo building is $54 million, allowing $44 million for actual construction. An additional $4.7 million in MAPS 3 funds are being invested in new parking lots and other site improvements, separate from this project. The expo building is one of many improvements taking place at State Fair Park.

The MAPS 3 Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Subcommittee provides guidance to the project and is made up of ten mayor-appointed citizens: Chairman Bob Nelon, Vice Chair Dee Morales, Ann Simank, J. Blake Wade, Mike Turpen, Chris Turner, Eric Roberts, Tim O’Toole, Shawn D. Clark and Madeline Mitchell. Every MAPS 3 project is currently underway, either in planning, design, construction or land acquisition.

[macfoucin]

Atlas General Contractors Home Page

[rezman]

And that maintaining and operating it has had it's ups and downs....

[Plutonic Panda]

State Fair to begin improvements after this year's fair | Oklahoma City - OKC - KOCO.com

[HOT ROD]

Pork?

[TheTravellers]

I don't have a subscription, but here's an interesting story that I don't believe has been mentioned:

Unfair play? Bid shopping for new expo center alleged; OKC Council awards $36.9M contract to accused company | The Journal Record

[rezman]

Whatever they do, i hope they don't tear down the old Kitchens Of America building,... now known as the Centenial. I've always liked it's design, especially the wood ceilings.

[Mel]

Wish they had not fixed something that wasn't broke. When they put up that newish building and it still had an inflatable roof I used to have a blast pranking my DW. I would always have her go first through the turnstile doors, as any Gentleman would, then I would take the next section and push. For years she believed the line I feed her about pressure differential. Right before they changed it she saw another hubby/boyfriend do the same thing and turned around and hit me.

[jn1780]

Wish they had not fixed something that wasn't broke. When they put up that newish building and it still had an inflatable roof I used to have a blast pranking my DW. I would always have her go first through the turnstile doors, as any Gentleman would, then I would take the next section and push. For years she believed the line I feed her about pressure differential. Right before they changed it she saw another hubby/boyfriend do the same thing and turned around and hit me.

That was all about reducing operating expenses. It cost more to keep it pressurized and it got ripped up at least twice from Oklahoma weather.

[warreng88]

I don't have a subscription, but here's an interesting story that I don't believe has been mentioned:

Unfair play? Bid shopping for new expo center alleged; OKC Council awards $36.9M contract to accused company | The Journal Record

Unfair play? Bid shopping for new expo center alleged; OKC Council awards $36.9M contract to accused company

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record September 10, 20140

OKLAHOMA CITY – One of the metro area’s larger electrical subcontractors has accused a general contractor of bid shopping on the city’s new expo center at the state fairgrounds.

Alan Hadley, owner of Metro Tech Electrical Contractors, brought his grievance to the City Council this week. He alleged that Bixby-based Atlas General Contractors was trying to manipulate its subcontractors into lowering their prices so that Atlas could meet its obligation after winning the MAPS 3 project agreement with a significantly lower bid than competitors.

City officials originally estimated that the construction would cost $42 million. Council members on Tuesday approved the Atlas contract at $36.9 million. The other seven bids that were received in July clustered in the range of $40 million to $42 million. Hadley told council members that Atlas effectively left $3 million on the table and then tried to find a way to cover the difference.

Bid shopping is a construction industry term referring to the unethical practice of divulging contractors’ bids to each other in order to push figures lower. The American Subcontractors Association has promoted anti-shopping legislation in several states.

Hadley said his concerns were based on email conversations with Atlas President Mike Owen. Owen accepted a subcontract bid from a competing electrical company several days after Atlas was granted the overall project, Hadley said, and Atlas then used that bid from Baker Bros. Electric Inc. to leverage Hadley to lower his own price. The email that Hadley shared with The Journal Record showed Owen had forwarded Baker’s bid with the warning, “For your eyes only!”

A few days later, Owen provided Hadley with a letter of intent to grant Metro Tech the electrical subcontracting work on the expo center so that he could negotiate with suppliers for prices.

“The definition of bid shopping pretty clearly shows how they operate,” Hadley said. “And unfortunately, a lot of the GCs (general contractors) operate that way.”

“I would be careful on your end with raising the ethical question,” Owen wrote in an email to Hadley. “You have now put us in a very awkward position with Baker Brothers, who was the low bidder on bid day.”

Owen said Wednesday that Hadley’s behavior was unusual, given that they’ve worked together several times over the years and are involved on two projects now. He said Hadley was upset that Owen had ultimately given the contract back to Baker Bros.

“What he said is 100 percent, totally false,” Owen said. “In a small construction community in Oklahoma City – or the state of Oklahoma, for that matter – we, as a major player, given that we primarily focus on public works, it would not be in our best interests to shop somebody out.”

Owen said that the email to Hadley dated Aug. 8, a week after the overall contract bid on the expo center was announced, was merely a summary discussing the scope of work. Baker Bros. was the low bid on bid day with a base of $6.9 million adjusted to $7.48 million to account for alternate elements, he said.

The reason the $36.9 million bid was so much lower than the other contractors is because Owen has better connections with subcontractors such as Baker Bros., he said.

Baker Bros. President Paul Baker said Hadley’s perspective on the matter was slightly off. He knew Owen had communicated with Hadley after bid day, Baker said, but that rarely happens in the industry. The reason Atlas had given Baker’s subcontract to Hadley was because of bonding and manpower concerns, he said; when those concerns were laid to rest and Hadley’s relationship with Owen became tense, the subcontract deal was reversed again.

“I think they were trying to use us as a wedge to get him to lower his price a little bit,” Owen said.

Pragmatism wins out in the local industry where so many of the players have known each other for decades, Baker said.

“I’ve known the president of Atlas for close to 20 years and I’ve done a lot of work with him,” Baker said. “I’ll dance with the one who brought me.”

Hadley said he was disappointed with City Council members’ failure to look into the problem before awarding the contract to Atlas. He urged city officials to refine their rules and oversight. The council declined his request to withhold the contract and suggested Hadley hire an attorney.

“As I walked away from council, I wish I would have suggested some things for them to implement in the future in dealing with tax-funded jobs to protect subcontractors,” he said.

[Bullbear]

Went to the fair last night. its a shame that it is such a shadow of what it once was in my opinion. seems so small now and not that interesting. things I made mental note of missing from the fairgrounds. Cottonwood post, Grandstands, Monorail, atoms to arrows space needle, the airplanes that use to be on display years ago. the inflateable roof of the old "international building" and it seems none of the fountains work anymore other than the waterfall in front of the old kitchens of america building. it just seemed really small and the buildings have fewer and fewer exhibitors than the old days.. I guess I am officially the old guy who says. "Back when I was younger"

[warreng88]

Contractor questions Expo Center bid

by William Crum Published: September 29, 2014

An electrical contractor said the city council should look into circumstances surrounding the construction contract for the MAPS 3 Expo Center at State Fair Park.

The council awarded a $37 million contract earlier this month to Atlas General Contractors.

The city received eight bids on the project; six were clustered in a narrow range from $40 million to $40.6 million.

Alan Hadley of Metro Tech Electrical Contractors told the council that Atlas, after winning the project, came back to Metro Tech seeking a nearly 9 percent reduction in its price for electrical work.

"This general contractor has left $3 million on the table and the subcontractors are the ones paying the price," Hadley said.

City Manager Jim Couch said dealings with subcontractors are "behind the bid" and beyond the city's reach.

Hadley said the dispute should serve as a "red flag as to what kind of project you're going to get."

In an interview, he said the city "should have awarded it to the lowest responsible bid, because if the bid is responsible there's no need to go back to the subs."

Worth considering: Expo Center construction is to begin soon; the building is to open in 2016.

Contractor questions Expo Center bid | News OK

[jn1780]

Not an issue if the city actually makes sure Atlas delivers what was bid on. I just wish I had higher confidence the city actually did that.