BUILDING
the
BLUE ZONE
THIS IS CAROLINA
BY ZACH READ
T
he athletic department argues that the expansion of Kenan
Stadium is vitally important to the future of Carolina athletics.
Revenue from ticket sales will have an enormous impact on the
competitive success of Olympic sports at the university, especially
as department costs and individual program budgets continue
to rise. So when the plans for stadium expansion were approved
three years ago, the long-term future of Carolina’s sports programs
immediately looked brighter.
At the start of the 2009 football season, the results of the first
phase of the project could be seen rising above the west end zone in
the form of the newly renovated Kenan Football Center, which now
boasts an additional fifth floor. And just last spring, shortly after
the Tar Heels finished up the 2009 season, construction began on
Phase II in the east end zone, where the Carolina Student-Athlete
Center for Excellence and the Blue Zone will be completed and
ready for use before the start of the 2011 season.
Completing such a large project, and doing so on an
aggressively short timetable, is no easy feat. In working quickly
to construct Phase II, complications would inevitably arise. But
design people from Corley Redfoot Zack, Inc., along with general
contractor T.A. Loving Company, subcontractors, university
officials, and the athletic department, among many others who
have had a hand in the Phase II effort, have helped in the aim to
keep the project moving swiftly and smoothly.
UNC Athletic Communications
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Construction crews have
been working around the
clock to complete Kenan
Stadium’s new east end
zone in time for the start of
the 2011 season.
Glenn Corley is the lead architect of Corley Redfoot Zack.
He’s been intimately involved with the project since his firm was
charged with designing the plans for it a few years ago. And he
admits it’s been an interesting—and rewarding—endeavor for
everyone involved, in part because of the tight schedule.
“We’re basically building a two-year job in just one year,”
Corley said. “It’s been taxing on all of us to keep up with the work.
But all the people involved are doing a great job, a yeoman’s job.
We’ve had a really cooperative construction team with T.A. Loving
Company. But even though we’re on schedule, there’s still a lot to
get done. We can’t let off the pedal.”
Fortunately CRZ has a wealth of experience with projects such
as the Blue Zone. Founded in 1972, CRZ has built or renovated
major facilities of all kinds at UNC, NC State, UNCW, Appalachian
State, and East Carolina, in addition to constructing buildings
for private companies, school systems, and the government. So
they’ve been prepared for the coordination required to make sure
plans are being followed properly, jobs are being done to cost, and
people are working together.
“On our team we have engineers, architects, interior designers.
They’re coming from Atlanta, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh
“The construction is
moving at a fast pace.
It has to—the end date
cannot be extended nor
do we anticipate having
to extend it.”
to help with this project,” Corley said. “And we have a lot to keep
in mind. We have to compare the original plan to what’s arrived—
it may include structured steel, ceramic tiles, interior woodwork,
carpets, masonry, and we have to make sure those things meet
the cost idea from when we started the job….We must verify
everything that comes on site because you have to make sure the
work is going in the right place at the right time so it doesn’t hinder
future work on the project.”
Experience combined with deliberate planning and a
cooperative effort has been a great mix, and it’s helped the
entire team of contributors meet challenges, both anticipated
and unforeseen.
Associate athletic director Rick Steinbacher has been closely
involved with the Kenan expansion, and he’s very pleased with the
ability of so many parties to work together.
“We’ve had outstanding cooperation,” Steinbacher said.
“This is a project that a lot of people have been heavily involved
with—in the athletic department, the Rams Club, the Chancellor,
in facilities planning. We had a weekly meeting with Glenn Corley,
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T.A. Loving, has handled them quickly and appropriately….The
construction is moving at a fast pace. It has to—the end date
cannot be extended nor do we anticipate having to extend it.
There have been some challenges such as planning concrete
and material deliveries, providing safe access to and from the
Visitors Village during the football season, and the upcoming
Commencement, but these things have been well planned
out ahead of time. Right from the start of construction many
University departments have been and continue to be involved
in the project, such as the Department of Public Safety and
Environmental Health and Safety.”
“This is not a small
project. We’re not just
building a building.
We’re altering the entire
way Kenan operates.”
UNC Athletic Communications
Keith Snead, Dana Leeson, Karlton Creech, and many others—it’s
been tremendous the collaboration we’ve had. We’ve also worked
with the state offices in Raleigh and the town of Chapel Hill.”
At the university level, veterans of facilities projects at UNC
have been a huge help in ensuring that the facility is ready for
fans and student-athletes by the start of the 2011 football season.
Dana Leeson, Associate Manager of the Construction Management
Department, and Keith Snead, Facilities Mechanical Engineer,
both work in the University’s Facilities Planning and Construction
offices. They’ve played integral roles in the project’s rapid rise.
And they’ve had to help solve problems along the way.
“One of the biggest concerns of the project, besides the
schedule, is constructing the facility quickly but safely and
minimizing the impact to the daily operation of the campus and
student life,” Leeson and Snead said jointly. “Our office has
received minimal complaints, and the construction company,
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As Leeson and Snead noted, the schedule presents the
most challenges. According to David Philyaw, the T.A. Loving
construction manager for the project, it’s safe to say that the
timetable has kept them busy on the site.
“We typically start every morning at 7,” said Philyaw. “From
T.A. Loving, we have eight guys on the site full-time. We’re
coordinating among ourselves, dividing the work distribution
for the day. Each of us works with the subcontractors who
handle different elements of the site. Then on the field site we
have superintendents overseeing on average about 300 to 350
employees on the project a day. These are represented by an
average of 15 different subcontractors.”
The hours add up.
“We’re working anywhere from 40 to 60 or 70 hours per
week,” Philyaw continued. “And we’ve been doing seven days a
week. As long as there’s daylight, we’re working.”
Leeson and Snead agree that the hours are long, but they’re
also necessary if the project is to be completed on time. “The
schedule continues to be a main focal point for the team,”
they said. “This is probably the biggest challenge for the team.
Currently the project is on schedule. Any slippages that occur are
absorbed in a weekend or extended work day activities. The site
is busy with over 300 construction personnel. Again, the schedule
necessitates this high level of manpower and management. The
various entities involved such as the State Construction Office,
OWASA, Facilities Services and Energy Services have been very
cooperative, performing inspections as needed.”
Of the many circumstances that could slow down a project,
perhaps the most obvious is bad weather. And true to North
Carolina’s mild climate, the project has benefited from decent
UNC Athletic Communications
weather since ground was broken last spring.
“By and large we’ve had good weather,” Philyaw said. “Every
time it rains we get water in the building and we have to dry it out.
But things have gone smoothly.”
Steinbacher and the athletic department are pleased that the
weather has been agreeable, for the most part.
“Any contractor is prepared for weather, but we’ve been
fortunate to have good weather,” Steinbacher said.
Other challenges to the site have been relatively minor as well.
There was always the fear of not knowing what you’re going to find
once the digging begins. But those fears have been calmed.
“In general the site is in a small footprint,” Philyaw said.
“We’ve hit rock and unsuitable material and we’ve had to replace
it. But there have been worse sites. Glenn Corley’s folks did a lot
of work in advance of this. One of the things people don’t know is
that the stadium was built in a natural ravine, which is a reason it
was selected as the original site for a football stadium. It’s in kind
of a sunken bowl, which helps.”
And that’s been a relief for the entire athletic department.
“As for the challenges of the site, we talked at great length,”
Steinbacher said. “The Kenan Field House was built in 1927. We
were worried about hitting rock, but fortunately we haven’t run into
anything major, so it’s been very smooth. Other projects on campus
have faced major issues. But for the east end zone, there’s been
nothing but a blip here and there.”
In terms of finishing up the project, by late March the team
was completing the exterior of the facility and the site before
moving inside.
Some serious planning is going on before that shift can
happen. The team needs to be absolutely certain that the very
heavy lifting that’s been needed for the structure and for the
exterior is complete.
“We had to create a new access road because it’s so hard to
get materials in and out,” said Philyaw. “Our office is so busy with
15 to 25 people coordinating among themselves, trying to make
sure that everything is finished before we move the big cranes out
for good. We have to make sure that the cranes won’t be needed
any more.”
And that’s when the plans for the Blue Zone and the Carolina
Student-Athlete Center for Excellence begin their final stages. It’s
been a long process, but everyone involved knows that a strong
concept and a lot of commitment would help them achieve the
late-summer start date.
“We’ve been working on the master plan and the total concept
for three years,” Corley said. “We did the master plan for review
by the athletic department and the folks at the Rams Club, and
the facilities department of the university, and then to the various
committees up to the Board of Trustees. After we had approval we
decided which side of the project to bite off first, and we chose
the west end zone. After we completed that, it was unanimous to
go to the east end zone, and we’ve nearly executed our drawings.”
While Steinbacher is confident that the project will be
completed on time, he’s aware that there’s still work to be done.
“The furniture will be moved in by August 26th,” he said. “But
we know there’s still a lot to do. We have to decide how to cater
the building. We have to work on access to and from the building.
We’ve identified 32 major projects between now and September
3rd that will need attention, so there are issues we’ll need to figure
out. This is not a small project. We’re not just building a building.
We’re altering the entire way Kenan operates. What we knew about
Kenan—that’s all changing.”
Over the past year the Blue Zone has taken on a life of its own.
With the complexity of the expansion from a construction standpoint
and the importance of it to Carolina athletics, it’s no wonder that
Phase II is perhaps the most highly anticipated of the phases. This
is evidenced by the amount of manpower on site and the number of
hours being clocked by everyone involved in the project.
The coordination and cooperation for such an effort is
crucial, and all parties involved seem to recognize that working
together is the only way to finish the project on time and unveil
the new facility for the kickoff of the 2011 season. What impact
the facility will have on the Carolina football program and the
Carolina athletics as a whole are questions Tar Heels fans are
excited to see answered.
Q
Zach Read ([email protected]) is an assistant editor at
UNC Press in Chapel Hill.
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