McKinney, contractors working to resolve issues with $70M new stadium

The McKinney Independent School District is working with contractors to determine how to deal with issues related to concrete on the home and visitor side concourses of the new football stadium and event center. The $70 million facility has had greater than anticipated cracking. Manhattan Construction and Stantec Architecture are investigating the concerns.

“We promised our community a first-class facility, and that’s what we intend to deliver, even if it takes a little longer than expected,” said McKinney ISD Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Rick McDaniel, in a news release. “This project will serve our community for the next 50-plus years, so the long-term durability and integrity of the project is paramount.”

At a special board meeting last week, McKinney ISD officials received a construction update on the McKinney ISD Stadium and Community Event Center.

The presentation was led by Jason Bird, MISD chief financial officer, and representatives from Manhattan Construction Co., construction manager for the project, and Stantec Architecture, the firm that designed the stadium.

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Manhattan Construction managed construction for AT&T Stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and the University of North Texas Apogee Stadium. Stantec is responsible for the recent redesign of Wrigley Field, a redesign and expansion of the University of Wisconsin Student Athlete Performance Center and the 8,000 seat Texan Drive Stadium in New Caney ISD.

The stadium and CEC construction is approximately 90 percent complete. Both the home and visitor concourses and stands have been completed, the benches and reserved seating are installed, the video board is complete, the turf has been laid and the parking lots and landscaping are nearing completion. Construction crews are currently working on interior finishes in the CEC, technology throughout the stadium and safety and security items, according to the district.

Once complete, the stadium will seat 12,000 spectators for football and soccer games, band performances, marching competitions and other events. The CEC will accommodate up to 500 people in a banquet-style arrangement and approximately 800 people in a lecture-style setting. The district plans to use the CEC on a daily basis for meetings, professional development and trainings, banquets and special events.

McKinney ISD has employed Nelson Forensics, a forensic engineering firm, to provide a third-party evaluation of the concerns. Plano-based Nelson was also the firm hired by the Allen Independent School District, when it found cracks in its stadium in 2015.

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Manhattan and Stantec have committed to work together to address any and all of the concerns, and bear the responsibility of any associated costs.

“As we navigate though the final challenges of this historic project, the residents of McKinney can rest assured Manhattan will deliver as promised,” said Mark Penny, senior vice president of Manhattan Construction Company. “Once complete, the new stadium for MISD will be something the entire McKinney community will be proud of. Manhattan has a long history of delivering exceptional projects for their customers. We can assure the people of McKinney the new stadium will not be an exception to that tradition.”

Penny said the company would do whatever it takes to resolve the issues. “Our company has a 125 year history of building these. There’s not a project you can find…we’ve done 60 years’ worth of work in Dallas…You cannot find a single client in Dallas that would tell you that we walked away from a problem and didn’t solve it—and made them proud. We will make the voters, the residents and certainly you guys proud of that.”

Trey Laird, principal architect at Stantec Architecture, expressed similar commitment.

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“Stantec takes pride and greatly values our relationship with McKinney ISD that spans more than 30 years. Our team is fully committed to continuing our work with both McKinney ISD and Manhattan Construction in providing a facility that is well-designed and constructed and that delivers long term value to the community,” he said.

Don Hensley, vice president at Stantec Architecture, said the firms will pay for the repairs depending on the outcome of the forensics report.

“From our end, if it’s a design issue, then our liability would take care of that,” he said. “I think I’m not speaking out of turn to say this, if it’s a construction issue, then… Mark’s group [Manhattan Construction] would…”

The District will provide another construction update at the Board of Trustees monthly meeting in June. Voters in McKinney approved a bond package in May 2016 that set aside $50 million to build a 12,000-seat football stadium. Another $11 million previously was set aside for site preparation and other work.

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