Everett Events Center

Fast-Moving Arena Used Design-Build Method

By Sheila Bacon

Construction of the $72 million, 295,000-sq.-ft. Everett Events Center in downtown Everett, Wash., wraps up this month, just in time for the start of ice hockey season. Rendering courtesy of LMN

Sometimes schedules are so critical to a job that missing a key completion date could put the entire project in peril.

The Everett Events Center was one of those projects.

Construction of the $72 million, 295,000-sq.-ft. hockey arena in downtown Everett, Wash., wraps up this month, just in time for the start of ice hockey season. Well before designs were even drawn, Nov. 15, 2003 loomed in the distance as the non-negotiable date on which the arena had to be ready. Despite a major design change and a week-long carpenters' union strike, crews have kept the project on track and even expect to finish the building at the beginning of this month - more than a month early.

Jamie Sipes, senior project manager for PCL Construction of Bellevue, Wash., credited success under a tight, 17½ -month construction schedule to the implementation of the design-build method.

"If not for design-build, this probably wouldn't have been built," he said.

If PCL crews had to wait until the design was complete to bid on the project, Sipes figures it would have taken an extra four months to build, setting the completion date far beyond the start of hockey season.

The arena is located on two city blocks between Hewitt and Wall streets and Broadway and Oakes avenues. The facility will host minor league hockey, conventions, concerts, exhibitions, rodeos and trade shows. The Everett Silver Tips, the Western Hockey League's newest team, will be the 8,250-seat arena's anchor tenant. An attached community ice sheet will be available for use by the general public.

Depending on the season, both ice sheets can be covered or melted to offer 58,000 sq. ft. of contiguous space for exhibitions or trade shows. Seating is removable and retractable to offer a larger and more flexible space.

The Everett Events Center's 8,250-seat arena is where the city's new ice hockey team - the Everett Silver Tips - will play. Photo courtesy of LMN

Added late in the design phase is a three-floor, 50,000-sq.-ft. conference center featuring a 12,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, prefunction space, meeting rooms, offices and ground-level retail. The space - attached to the north side of the community ice sheet - was an option added in when the project was well into the design document phase.

The change in plans also included a modified façade for the entire project - one that included more brick to blend easier with the arena's historical surroundings. The revisions increased the project cost by 25 percent, sent designers back to the drawing board and cut into PCL's original 20-month construction schedule by two months.

Work on the project was kept on track thanks to favorable weather during the critical earthwork and roof erection, and a lot of teamwork.

"At the time (the addition of the conference center) looked to be an enormous challenge," said Fred Safstrom, executive director of the Everett Public Facilities District, the agency overseeing the creation of the arena. "PCL took it on and not only achieved it, but will be finishing a month early."

Saving Time and Money

That spirit of teamwork began taking shape early on in the design-build process. By working closely with architects LMN of Seattle and PBK of Vancouver, B.C., as well as structural engineering firm Magnusson Klemencic of Seattle, PCL was able to offer a number of time- and money-saving options.

For example, PCL worked closely with the structural engineers in the design of the precast forms. A design system was created to match some of PCL's own interior forming systems. By using existing forming systems instead of building new ones, Sipes estimated the owner was saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.

PCL even involved its subcontractors in many of its design-build processes. Precast sub Bethlehem Construction of Cashmere, Wash. was invited to share its expertise during design meetings so the building system could be further value engineered.

Like Seattle's Space Needle or Tacoma's Dome, the Everett Events Center may soon become the facility that identifies the city. The roof structure features a suspension bridge-style support system with 200-ft. masts that reduces the need for view-blocking columns inside the arena and also adds a recognizable icon to the city's skyline.

The event center's design is the result of a design-build competition sponsored by the city of Everett's Public Facilities District. Of 10 entries, the LMN/PBK/PCL project team was one of three chosen to further detail its design. It was ultimately chosen as the winning team.

The entry was the only design that was able to offer the community ice sheet portion of the work for the allocated budget.

Tom Burgess, LMN project manager, said the team's considerable attention to the organization of the arena on the sloped site was one reason enough money could be saved to provide the second sheet of ice - an option that was important to the owner. He said the design allows entry to the arena in a natural way, taking advantage of the site's contours instead of implementing costly escalators and other people-movers.

The distinctive cable-stayed roof design allowed the design team to use an efficient structural system, bringing the roof plane lower and lessening the truss depth, Burgess said.

Team Effort Scores at Everett Events Center