Stadium Construction Costs: Can They Be Compared?
In general, every stadium the Council may study for a reference point is different and built under differing construction conditions in different construction markets in different economies. When one looks closely at each stadium project the factors that saved or cost funds outside the initial project estimate can be appreciated for their unique character. Of all the stadiums built recently the very successful San Francisco Giants Stadium comes to mind as one located in a below market industrial area. Due to the new Giants Park it is now a prime area for development. The San Diego Padres relocated to a similarly underutilized and undervalued site to spin off tremendous current and future development potential. That is the probable future for the South Capitol Street site as the development team will comment today.
 
Often weather, labor relations, material shortages, unique jobsite problems and project modifications create a new cost environment from that envisioned. With the visionary Project Labor Agreement (PLA) in place with a first rate construction team shaping up focusing on trained and skilled labor from our City we have every reason to feel confident in the budget and scheduling outlook for the new stadium project as proposed at South Capitol Street. We cannot be sure of the weather ahead and the economy of our City and our nation in the next few years but we can have confidence in the track record of the firms, the quality of the workforce and the PLA for the stadium.
Some on the Council and in the media have commented that “government construction projects always run over estimates” and that is too often accepted as fact. The truth is much more complex but in fact many large construction jobs do run on schedule and on or under budget without fanfare. When a public project runs over its initially projected cost estimates, even if arrived at prior to bidding contracts it often is a front-page news story.

This begs the question as to whether all public projects on a large scale run over budget in our City. One need look no farther than the West Front of the U.S. Capitol to see a multi-million dollar job that ran well ahead of schedule and so far under budget that the Olmsted Terraces were largely repaired with the left over funds from restoring the West Front. The new Arizona Cardinals’ stadium, now 80 percent complete is on the budget and on schedule. With many examples readily available with minimal research effort it is not difficult to find sport stadiums where costs ran on target, under quality management and within the time period of the estimate. As the DC Auditor’s report issued last November supports, too often when the project runs over budget it is due to a change in scope or design with a long list of “change orders” subject to lengthy litigation and not due to bad estimates of initial cost. A good project agreement will generate better contractor bids, as the confidence in the stadium’s day-to-day management and schedule will be clear.