For the first time, the Atlanta Braves and Cobb County have spelled out a detailed schedule for building the team’s planned new stadium near Cumberland Mall.
The schedule, included in a request for proposals (RFP) from general contractors interested in taking on the construction project, calls for site clearing to begin in mid-summer and stadium building to begin early next year.
Among key dates specified: Site clearing is to begin July 15 and be completed Oct. 13; grading is to begin Sept. 23 and be completed Dec. 23; and stadium construction is to begin Feb. 18, 2015, with substantial completion by Jan. 24, 2017, and final completion by Feb. 21, 2017, which is referred to in the document as the “soft opening.”
The ballpark is to be available for “a minimum of five weeks of opening activities in advance of the 2017 (Major League Baseball) season,” according to the 105-page document issued late last week by the Braves and Cobb.
The document asks prospective general contractors for proposed fees and other information. Bids are due to Cobb’s purchasing department by May 8. A selection committee, consisting of representatives from the county and the Braves, is scheduled to recommend a winning bidder to the Cobb County Board of Commissioners on May 27.
Minimum qualifications, according to the document, include having built at least three major sports facilities within the past 10 years, with at least one of the three a new MLB stadium. In the case of bids by joint-venture groups, at least one major member must have met those qualifications.
“The (Cobb) stadium will be unique, though many of its features will emulate those of similar and recently built MLB ballparks,” according to the document. “It will contain special features that are specifically tailored to the needs of (the Braves) and will be cohesive with the (planned adjacent mixed-use development).”
The general contractor will work for both Cobb and the Braves.
The RFP is confined to the stadium construction project and describes the mixed-use development as a separate process. The Braves envision a mix of shops, restaurants, bars, residences, offices and hotels.
The Braves are attempting to assemble a team of developers for that complex after one of two finalist groups pulled out of the process two weeks ago.
