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As the third-largest builder of sports facilities in the United States, Mortenson Construction has the experience necessary to tackle a project like the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium.

The $288.5 million project, located on the school’s Twin Cities campus, will be the new home of the Golden Gopher’s football team.

When the stadium opens in September 2009, the team will return to the campus for the first time in 28 years. The team left the old Memorial Stadium in 1982 and began playing at the Metrodome, two miles away in downtown Minneapolis. The Metrodome is also home to the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings and Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins.

TCF Bank stadium will be a modern, open-air facility designed as a horseshoe-shaped bowl, combining a traditional collegiate look and feel with modern stadium amenities.

“The split bowl design, brick façade and arched portals will be reminiscent of the old Memorial Stadium,” the university says. The stadium will have a capacity of 50,000, including general seats as well as club and suite seats. The design allows for the potential expansion to 72,000 to 80,000 seats. “The scoreboards, video boards and sound system are state of the art,” Senior Project Manager Paul Kitching says. “The main video board will be the fourth largest in the world at 110 feet wide by 50 feet tall.”

Meaningful Project
Although Mortenson has completed numerous other stadiums, this one is particularly meaningful to the Minneapolis-based company. “Mortenson’s commitment to the University of Minnesota dates back more than 80 years to 1924 when my grandfather worked as construction superintendent for the original Memorial Stadium,” Chairman of the Board Mort Mortenson said in a statement. “Since those early days, we have had a long and trusted partnership with the university, building numerous projects over the years.”

Mortenson broke ground in July 2007 and is currently in the steel erection phase of the project, according to Kitching. The company is self-performing the rough-in carpentry package and the site finishes package.

Its subcontractors include long-time associate and the state’s largest African-American-owned construction company, Thor Construction. Kitching estimates an average of 110 people are working on the project each month, with a maximum of 350 to 400 at one time.  

Green Goal
The University of Minnesota aims to build the most environmentally responsible major sports stadium in the country.  The TCF Bank Stadium project is on track to become one of only three LEED-certified stadiums in the country. Green elements include low-VOC paint and construction waste recycling.

“We’re separating all our waste for recycling – wood, plastic, steel, rubble, paper, cardboard,” Senior Superinten-dent Randy Schneider says. “All the onsite things here before – asphalt paving, concrete curbs and gutters - are all being used for fill or hauled off to be ground up and used elsewhere.” He says 97 percent of the structural steel used is recycled.

“The University wants to be a good steward of the environment, period,” Project Coordinator Brian Swanson said in a statement. “As a public institution, this is just the right thing to do.”

Unassuming Approach
Mortenson is headquartered in Minneapolis and has offices in Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Seattle and Phoenix. The company offers services including development, design/build, construction and facility operations and maintenance.

Mortenson is a recognized leader in the construction industry and says it is regarded by many customers as the premier builder of healthcare, education, sports, entertainment, hospitality and alternative energy projects. Mortenson has acquired plenty of construction experience, but it approaches each project in an unassuming manner, with the intent to identify and satisfy the specific needs of each individual customer, the company says.

Mortenson recently completed the new Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., and the renovation of the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. It also built the Target Center in Minneapolis and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

It is working on a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins and about to start work on a new arena for the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

With 140 salaried employees and 300 craftworkers in the Minneapolis office, Mortenson has remained successful thanks to its people, Kitching says. “We have exceptional people,” he says. “The experience they bring to the table - during the pre-construction and construction phases – helps owners and architects find the most efficient and cost-effective ways to build projects.”

He says the company is also a safety leader with a 0.72 EMR compared to the industry average of 1.0 EMR.  

“In just the Minneapolis office alone, we’ve worked more than five years and three million hours without a lost time incident,” he says.