I are engineer... M.E. class of '10
What I keep racking my mind with, is I've been on numerous multimillion dollar projects. It doesn't matter how much planning you do beforehand, or how many laser scans or 3D models you make, when it comes to the actual fabrication and construction of these things, there's always multiple square pegs that get built for round holes, always. It happens with renovations or new construction, doesn't matter. The number of issues though, and the severity of those issues, is usually directly correlated to the planning, funding, aptitude, and leadership of the project (obviously). I have seen how corners have been cut in order to either preserve schedules or mitigate cost overruns. Some of these corrections are unnoticeable or easily forgotten. Others, I still chuckle about as I walk by as the general public has no idea how much lipstick got put on that particular pig to make it acceptable. Again, it happens.
However, this project is only 7 months underway from when demolition started and to date:
They're behind schedule to the point that they had to forgo all home games this year (not in the original plan)
They're already needing an additional +$100 million (funding was never secured)
They have abandoned immediate plans for the remaining 1/3 of the stadium (just know that it will be done... at some point)
This is what prompted my previous question of what is their plan for connecting to the existing part of the old stadium? I'm sure there's a solution in place, but it continues to look more and more like a botched job.
And the need for that much additional funding after things have started... A project like this should be done on a lump sum basis. That way materials and personnel can be contracted, prices locked in, and schedules/resources can be planned and allocated accordingly. Surely they would not have done this on a T&M basis. I wouldn't even know how you could audit a project like this in such a manner. Were they hoping that more money would be pledged if people saw progress???
I could be getting way ahead of myself because they haven't finished pouring concrete and there's plenty of steel left to go. I just know that if I was in charge of this, I'd be starting to be concerned about the final product.