by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The pressure is on.
Since day one, Better Jacksonville Plan officials established very aggressive deadlines for the four major projects within the $2.2 billion plan.
A year ago, Mayor John Delaney and several Plan officials gathered about 1,000 local contractors and construction-related businessmen and women in the Osborn Center. The premise: here’s the Plan, here’s how you get involved and here are our deadlines. The mantra on project deadlines — “no slips, no delays, no excuses” — was repeated loudly and often.
At this point, at least one of those aggressive deadlines has been reevaluated. The baseball park was promised for April 2002. It will be at least a year late. The arena and new main library are both scheduled to open in May 2003 and the new courthouse is promised for sometime in 2005.
City officials maintain that the delivery date for the $125 million arena is still firm. The May 2003 date for the $95 million main library has been changed to late 2003 — approximately six months later than planned.
Although ground has officially been broken on both the ball park and arena, there is virtually no sign of serious construction going on at the sports complex.
Delaney’s chief of staff, Audrey Moran, said Plan officials are very aware of the perception that nothing is going on concerning the ball park. However, in the grand scheme of things, this is still a time for planning.
“Everybody is waiting for something to come out of the ground, but several things have to happen first,” said Moran. “The trolley lot has to be finished, retention ponds addressed, design work and plans; lots of behind-the-scenes stuff.
“We are well aware people want to see something come out of the ground, and so do we. The day the first piling is driven, the brick laid, I can’t tell you. I can tell you we meet weekly on all Better Jacksonville projects.
“We are going to be in our new baseball park on schedule.”
Suns owner and general manager Peter Bragan Jr. said he hasn’t pushed Plan officials or the panic button yet, but he concedes he’d feel better if he saw some work. The main reason Bragan isn’t too worked up yet is that he knows how quickly a 10,000-seat minor league baseball park can be built — especially when time is of the essence.
“When they were building the new ball park in Knoxville [a couple of years ago], they broke ground in May and were in the ground, working, in June,” explained Bragan. “They realized all the steel they were using was cut wrong. They called the mill, which was backed up, and got the new steel on Aug. 10. They opened that ball park on April 10, the next year. That ballpark is comparable to this one. I think it cost about $20-24 million.”
Bragan said he’s also not worried about the inactivity because he thinks Plan officials may have held the groundbreaking so early that the inactivity around the sports complex has negatively skewed public perception. While that perception may not be totally accurate, Bragan did say he, too, was pleasantly surprised at the timing of the groundbreaking ceremony.
“When they first broke ground in December and said they were going to start work in January, I thought, ‘Great, I’ll be able to move into my new offices next January,’” said Bragan. “I’ve said all along that they can do it [build the ball park] in a year or 11 months. They have said all along that it will take 14 months.”
If 14 months is accurate, several things need to happen soon in order for the Suns, as advertised, to open the 2003 season in their new park. Footers have to be dug and the infrastructure has to be installed to include water, sewer and electrical. And, those are just the initial stages of the construction process that will ultimately include everything from installing the lights and 8,500 seats to sodding the field early enough for it to be grown in by the season opener.
Bragan said he’d feel better if he could look out his office window and see something going on, no matter how menial. For now, though, he’ll remain patient.
“The politicians and construction guys are going to err on the side of caution,” said Bragan. “But, I thought we’d see some pilings being driven by now. If when we open the season on April 4 and there’s nothing going on, I’ll be very concerned. In January and February, I’m not too worried. If it was July, I’d be panicked.”
As far as his schedules and advertising campaign, Bragan said he believes Plan officials will assure he opens the 2003 season in the new park. In fact, according to Bragan, there are already semi-solid plans to tear down Wolfson Park at the end of this season — leaving everyone involved no choice but to finish the new park by April 2003.
“Barring something catastrophic, we will end this season in Wolfson Park and start 2003 in the new ball park,” said Bragan. “I’m trying my best to concentrate on April 4 and get ready for the season opener.”