State Fairgrounds

[Rover]

This is pretty common among contractors. Not exactly earth shattering news. And just because a contractor bids more it doesn't mean they still won't go back to subs for a reduction.

[warreng88]

From the JR:

Bigger and better: Construction set to start on largest event space in OKC

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record October 13, 20140

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau already has marketing pitches planned for the new, 279,000-square-foot expo building at State Fair Park, agency President Mike Carrier said.

City officials are scheduled to break ground Tuesday morning on the $54 million project at State Fair Park near Interstate 44 and I-40. The center has been planned since city residents approved a temporary 1-cent sales tax in 2010 for a $777 million package of projects referred to as MAPS 3.

In September, the City Council agreed to give the work contract to low bidder Bixby-based Atlas General Contractors. The building is expected to open in 2016.

Carrier said the center will allow current event organizers to consolidate their activities in a single, contiguous space instead of being spread throughout several buildings. The expo building will provide a 12,000-square-foot lobby, concession areas, ticket space, commercial kitchen and parking for 2,000 cars. The floor plan will allow for a wide range of configurations depending on the event, including banquet and catering facilities equipped to serve more than 3,500 people.

Not counting amenities and support service space, the convention floor space itself will total about 200,000 square feet. The building will be the largest event space in Oklahoma City.

“We have not identified any new business for it yet,” Carrier said. “But what you’re going to see is several existing customers at the fairgrounds are going to be in a better position to expand their shows. And that obviously provides a better customer experience.”

Carrier referred to expos for automobiles, boats, crafts, guns and recreational vehicles that the city attracts each year. The expo hall is expected to bring in a different type of event than the new $225 million MAPS 3 convention center, which would provide about the same amount of space. A citizens advisory board for the convention center agreed in September that more exhibit space would be better and suggested a 25-percent increase to the downtown convention center project.

“Where this helps us is to look at new opportunities for use of the fairgrounds by approaching national consumer show producers and trade shows who have not been able to come into Oklahoma City before because we did not have sufficient space,” Carrier said.

However, his staff has not approached potential new clients with news of the expo hall yet, he said. Carrier said that won’t be a problem because product expo organizers typically need less lead time to pick a destination than convention planners.

“Once the building is under construction, we’ll be able to give them a much better feel for what’s going on,” he said.

The typical expo attendee is expected to spend about $235 per day in local products and services such as hotel rooms and restaurants, officials said.

State Fair Park President Tim O’Toole could not be reached for comment about how the older buildings will be used once events are moved to the new center. Another spokesman said those facilities will attract other sizes of events as space becomes open.

[Laramie]

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.

Yes Dallas does. Many of those structures are what was left following the 1936 World's Fair (Texas Centennial Exposition).

OKC looked at the possibilities of hosting a 1989 World's Fair, the cost probably outweighed the benefits. We later opted for the 1989 Olympic Festival.

[warreng88]

Shocker...

Asbestos removal adds to MAPS 3 expo center project costs

The Oklahoma City MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board on Thursday agreed to increase the State Fair Park expo center budget to account for removal of asbestos from the Travel & Transportation Building, which is set to be demolished starting next week.

by William Crum Published: November 20, 2014

The MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board agreed Thursday to increase the State Fair Park expo center budget to account for removal of asbestos from the Travel & Transportation Building, which is set to be demolished starting next week.

Project managers were surprised by the extent of asbestos in the concrete and concrete block walls of the 64,000-square-foot structure, which is about 50 years old. Removing it will add $259,000 to the construction budget, bringing it to $37.3 million.

The expo center will include a 200,000-square-foot exhibition hall intended to accommodate trade shows, farm implement shows and other events that are too big for existing halls in Oklahoma City. It is expected to open in the spring of 2016.

Asbestos removal adds to MAPS 3 expo center project costs | News OK

[kevinpate]

How can anyone feign surprise at finding asbestos in a 50ish year old building? Seems the surprise would be if it wasn't there.

[Snowman]

How can anyone feign surprise at finding asbestos in a 50ish year old building? Seems the surprise would be if it wasn't there.

It seems like it would have to just be on how much and where they found, if you looked at the ceilings in most of those buildings you knew it was there.

[TheTravellers]

Seriously, they're surprised? How many times do people working for the city/state have to be surprised before they start expecting things like this? This is getting silly, it's like they've never done this kind of work before, surprised at the cost overruns for damn near all of MAPS3, surprised at all the underground basements for P180, surprised at the Skydance bridge planks warping, surprised at the Lexington (I think that's where it is) bridge falling down when they tried to weld it, surprised at the crosswalk paint coming off the streets, ad nauseum..........................

[HOT ROD]

or the fairgrounds begging for more M3 capital funds when they already have an approved budget in addition to live revenue streams (I know, broken record).

[Pete]

It's only $259K on a $37.3 million budget.

The Fairgrounds portion of the budget has $2.8 million in contingency, but I have no idea how much of that has been spoken for.


It just amazes me the way this works. Budget overruns have to be approved by the appropriate chain but there is absolutely no way they can make informed decisions based on the information presented to them.

I'm still working on how a proper project report should be presented, BTW.

To me, this is the single biggest issue right now in City government.

[HOT ROD]

fairgrounds doesn't have $260K from profitable operations as the #1 Horse Show destination?

[Pete]

Starting work on the Expo building:

[rezman]

Anyone know where the steam locomotive is going to be moved to?.

[Paseofreak]

They're going to throw it away. Horse shows don't need a steam locomotive.

[CaptDave]

Anyone know where the steam locomotive is going to be moved to?.

Oklahoma Rail Museum is getting it.

[bombermwc]

Glad to see these buildings go. They let them get in such bad disrepair that places like the T&T building actually had HOLES rusted through the side. I kid you not, I could see INSIDE the building from the outside at the fair last year. Forget the doors actually sealing too. Although it is a shame that the Centennial is getting tossed after work was done to actually fix it up. Functionally, it's terrible, but it's just a shame to see the dollars tossed. On the up side, at least it didn't spend the last 15 years rotting even more than it was. These buildings were crap when I was a kid in the 80's....waaaay overdue.

[Pete]

Anyone know where the steam locomotive is going to be moved to?.

It's being moved to the Oklahoma Railway Museum:

[Plutonic Panda]

Crane Will Lift Locomotive Ahead Of Move To OK Museum - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[rezman]

Glad to see these buildings go. Although it is a shame that the Centennial is getting tossed after work was done to actually fix it up. Functionally, it's terrible, but it's just a shame to see the dollars tossed. On the up side, at least it didn't spend the last 15 years rotting even more than it was.

Is the Centennial building going to get razed?. I have't heard or read anything on that... Yet.
I hope it doesn't.

[Pete]

The Centennial Building is not being demolished.

[rezman]

The Centennial Building is not being demolished.

Thanks Pete. That's good to hear. It really is a functional building with a clear span and straight access through the overhead doors from one end to the other. Perfect for smaller shows and events.

[Head]

All through the state, "Historic Route 66" signs." Indian Nation Turnpike". "Chisolm Trail". "Stockyard City". The State Fair is (was) as iconic as these Oklahoma trademarks. Hell, even the racetrack was part of our midwest/wild west culture. It seems like there should be a few things kept sacred, as we move into "How-Hip-It-Is-To-Live-Downtown-and-Drink-Chai Tea-From-Whole Foods". I'm not a $hit kicking redneck (but I did move here to build a log cabin, heat with wood, and bathe in a horse trough, 36 years ago). I enjoy a wide selection of pho, taquerias, and single malt scotches, as well as a diversity of friends from different races and bents of all kinds, all as a result of living in a large metro. I GET "progressive" thought. I "promote" progressive thought. But we've destroyed some great tradition, at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. I don't see it coming back, and that's my bitch.

[Pete]

New Expo building starting to come out of the ground:

[jn1780]

Doesn't seem like they got a lot done in 8 months.

[bombermwc]

Well they had to demo several structures first, and then all that rain im sure delayed things quite a bit.

[Bill Robertson]

And the underground utilities, digging footings, building reinforcements, etc. is really time consuming. Once the above ground work starts things usually pick up pace.