EOI process to find Managing Contractor for North Queensland Stadium moves to evaluation stage

Expressions of interest (EOI) for the managing contractor who will build the A$250m North Queensland Stadium closed on 18 January 2017, with the process having now entered the evaluation stage.

The managing contractor will be required to create local employment opportunities, ensure suitable local businesses are given the opportunity to tender on work packages, identify opportunities for local industry innovation and achieve project training targets.

Submissions are now being evaluated in terms of each company’s capability and capacity; relevant experience; local industry participation and training strategies; and their results on similar projects.

Following evaluation of the EOIs, a shortlist will be selected by February 2017 to submit formal tenders, with the successful managing contractor to be appointed by mid-2017.

The project so far…

Cox Architecture teamed up with Townsville architects 9Point9 to score the coveted principal consultant role on the A$250m North Queensland Stadium, awarded last month.

The Cox team’s elegant design, innovative facility planning and strong local collaboration, including their genuine local input and partnership impressed the evaluation panel.

Cox’s design team incorporates a number of specialist consultancies with Townsville offices, including:

• 9point9 Architects
• Ashburner Francis (mechanical and electrical)
• Arup (structural, civil, traffic and transport, Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) specialists, acoustics)
• Parker Hydraulics
• RPS (landscaping and surveying)
• Douglas Partners (geotechnical)
• Cyclone Testing Station at James Cook University (specialist wind engineering).

Cox Architecture’s North Queensland Stadium concept design features:

• Seating for 25,000 with the ability to expand capacity to 30,000 seats in the future
• Corporate facilities, amenities, permanent concessions and state-of-the-art IT throughout
• A roof design inspired by the native Pandanus tree
• A roof that covers 80 percent of the seating and is designed to resist cyclonic wind conditions
• An open grassed terrace at the northern end to allow views to the city and Magnetic Island
• Generous arrival plazas and landscaped greens
• Sports lighting incorporated into the stand roofing, eliminating the need for light towers
• Stormwater run-off management to protect water quality of Ross Creek
• Environmental sustainability initiatives
• Options for future further development on the site

AECOM Cost Consulting Pty Ltd has been appointed as the North Queensland Stadium Project’s quantity surveyor, with the audit programmer for the project named as Resources Coordination Partnership Pty Ltd (RCP). Both companies have long-established Townsville offices and were chosen for the positions based on assessment of key project requirements, which included experience, capacity and local industry participation.

The Department of State Development is leading the delivery of the North Queensland Stadium Project, which is expected to generate up to 750 jobs throughout the design and construction stages.

With a total project budget of A$250m, a centrally-located, 25,000-seat, best-practice, regional stadium will be built in Townsville, in time for the start of the 2020 National Rugby League (NRL) season.

North Queensland Stadium is a joint project of the Queensland Government (A$140m), Australian Government (A$100m) and Townsville City Council (land and enabling infrastructure) and is supported by the National Rugby League (A$10m).

The stadium project will provide a catalyst for urban regeneration in Townville, attract further investment into the region and support jobs growth.

The North Queensland Stadium site will be located within the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area adjacent to the Townsville Central Business District, between Ross Creek and Saunders Street.

Watch the North Queensland Stadium concept design video within the Features/Videos section of SportsVenueBusiness.com online at: http://sportsvenuebusiness.com/index.php/videos/

Image, courtesy: Townsville City Council

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