Barton Malow, USF part ways on $340M stadium project

Dive Brief:

• Barton Malow will no longer serve as the general contractor on the University of South Florida’s $340 million football stadium project, Larry Arndt, vice president of the company’s South region confirmed to Construction Dive in a statement.
• At the school’s Dec. 5 board of trustees meeting, USF pushed the new project completion goal back one year to 2027, due to unnamed supply chain issues, and shifted to a construction-manager-at-risk arrangement versus the original design-build delivery method. As a result, the school and Southfield, Michigan-based contractor have parted ways on the project.
• “Barton Malow understands the owner’s decision, as it provides USF with the opportunity to control both the design and the budget directly without any intermediary,” Arndt said, adding that both parties look forward to collaborating again. USF did not respond to Construction Dive inquiries about whether it has selected a new contractor.

Dive Insight:

In a release showcasing new renderings of the stadium, USF said the later completion deadline will provide the university with time to handle supply chain issues and give a few months prior to the first kickoff to set up the facility’s operation.

The project, designed by Kansas City, Missouri-based Populous, will include:

• A dedicated student section.
• An open concourse around the majority of the venue, providing views of the field from the concession and restroom areas. 
• A large tailgating space north of the stadium.
• Premium seats, suites, boxes and club areas. 

The university expects to release more detailed stadium renderings in spring 2024 and break ground on the project next fall. 

The project illustrates the importance that the choice of delivery method has on a project. Under a design-build method, the project builder and designer work together on a bid as a team, so the project owner needs to only connect with one entity to communicate on the project.

Under a construction-manager-at-risk arrangement, however, the owner contracts the designer and contractor separately. In his statement, Arndt said he understood USF’s decision to change, as it “provides the school with the opportunity to control both the design and the budget directly without any intermediary.”