The Challenge

Rose Paving Company was contracted by Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (IFSA), a government unit responsible for constructing and renovating sports fields, to repair over 300,000 square-feet of parking area at U.S. Cellular Field, located in Chicago, Illinois.

u.s. cellular field parking lot repair

The development of U.S. Cellular Field began in 1989. Since that time, the ballpark has been renovated over five separate phases occurring between 2001 and 2005. Although these enhancements were made to the stadium itself, ISFA continually makes improvements to the facility’s exterior grounds as well. This includes maintaining and beautifying the venue’s parking lots. Throughout the year, the park experiences crowds between 30,000 and 40,000 guests on over 100 occasions. This amount of heavy traffic takes a toll on the stadium’s parking lots. ISFA is well aware that repairing the damages is critical to project a positive image as well as to avoid potential liabilities.

Like most businesses, ISFA contends with budgetary constraints when selecting a contractor to perform maintenance services; but, in the case of U.S. Cellular Field, scheduling restrictions are also a huge consideration. ISFA needed to partner with a parking lot maintenance contractor that could offer a competitive price and complete work, according to specification, under a tight time-frame during non-game days.

Ed Bogacki, Construction Management Consultant for ISFA, and his team began the process of qualifying contractors in October of 2006. At that time, ISFA created a public, open-bid forum on their Web site for all interested contractors. From that pool, bids were reviewed, contractors were interviewed, and the selection was narrowed down. Rose Paving proved to be the best value because of our unique engineering approach to the repairs and our ability to mobilize crews and begin work immediately.

According to Bogacki, “Rose Paving impressed me from the very beginning; their technical knowledge surpassed that of other paving contractors, and the size of their operation reassured me that they are well equipped to complete sizable projects in a timely manner.”

The Solution

Rose Paving performed an initial walk-through of Lot G at U.S. Cellular Field during the open bid. A follow-up evaluation occurred prior to commencing work in May of 2007. The parking area at Lot G required extensive maintenance to repair over 300,000 square-feet of deteriorated asphalt. Working with ISFA’s existing plan and their allocated funds, Rose Paving’s civil engineer developed a scope of work that involved asphalt removal and replacement of highly problematic areas, resurfacing with underlayment fabric and lot marking of the entire parking area, and concrete installation to build a new sidewalk along the lot’s main entrance. Armed with a project scope, Rose Paving’s project manager created an intensive work schedule that aligned with ISFA’s stringent time-frame requirements of project completion within one week.

The rehabilitation of Lot G had to be completed during a few consecutive days when there were no events scheduled at the venue to minimize any inconvenience to the tenant at U.S. Cellular Field and their guests. Rose Paving had a brief window to notify city police and nearby residents of the intent to begin work, block off the lot, mobilize crews, and begin paving. A team of Rose Paving operations personnel, site engineers, and project managers worked to make it happen and succeeded in beginning the repairs just one day after the contract was accepted by ISFA. Rose Paving’s complete dedication to the success of the project was especially appreciated by Bogacki who, in addition to consulting on all new construction as well as interior and exterior maintenance projects at U.S. Cellular Field, also serves as the liaison between the director of ISFA and all outside contractors, architects, and engineers. He explains, “With such a wide variety of responsibilities on any given day, it was especially helpful to work with the diligent and detail-oriented folks at Rose Paving; they enabled me to concentrate on other aspects of my work without worry.”

In addition to project size, scope, and scheduling challenges, Rose Paving also had to keep a watchful eye on the sky. With the possibility of rain looming in the future, Rose Paving worked through the weekend to avoid any chance of weather-related delays. Fortunately, the project progressed without any setbacks.

The Result

Lot G was completely resurfaced, clearly marked with fresh striping, and enhanced with a brand new sidewalk in less than 5 days, exceeding the expectations of ISFA and their tenant at U.S. Cellular Field. Bogacki confirms, “I needed a reliable contractor that could perform well under tight deadlines according to a strict schedule. Rose Paving not only delivered, they hit a home run! Their team began work immediately after the project was awarded paving over 300,000 square-feet in just 2 days! Ultimately, the project was executed ahead of schedule and without complaints.” The newly improved lot provides safe and convenient accessibility to U.S. Cellular Field for all who utilize the parking lot throughout the year. Additional asphalt maintenance is planned for other lots surrounding the venue in 2008 or 2009.