Sarpy County now projects spending nearly $31.4 million for its new minor league baseball stadium.
County Administrator Mark Wayne updated the County Board on Tuesday about the latest cost estimates for the 6,000-seat home of the Omaha Royals, now under construction west of Papillion.
The original estimate for the entire project was $26 million.
Wayne's handouts showed that actual stadium construction now stands at about $21 million, roughly $700,000 more than he anticipated when the board signed its 25-year lease agreement with the Royals in 2009.
On the positive side, Wayne said, stadium construction costs were recently reduced by about $725,000 — the county won't have to pay about $500,000 in state construction sales taxes, and the contractor eliminated $225,000 from excavation work.
“I think that we've been able to keep the costs contained and also preserve the integrity of the stadium,” Wayne said.
Other so-called soft costs, including expenses to build new roads and infrastructure, could bring the overall price tag to $30.4 million, plus $1 million that the county has already paid to Brashear LLP, its former stadium project manager.
Road work around the new stadium near 126th Street and Nebraska Highway 370 will cost the county about $2.7 million, an amount that did not go up in the revised budget.
The general contractor, Weitz Co., will receive about $3.5 million.
The architect, DLR Group of Omaha, now will get about $2.1 million in total design fees and other expenses. That figure is about $500,000 more than the county anticipated when it hired the firm. The DLR fees climbed as a result of increased costs for the stadium.
Wayne said the county's total cost estimate includes a $1.2 million contingency fund for unforeseen expenses during construction. A portion of any leftover money would go back to the county.
Board Chairwoman Joni Jones said after the presentation that the stadium project is well over budget and may climb even more. Ultimately, she said, the costs will be absorbed by taxpayers or fans going to games starting next season.
Jones voted for the stadium project, but she has been a harsh critic of the escalating costs.
“We promised the taxpayers a $26 million total project, and now we're going to spend another $5 million to $7 million,” Jones said. “These are millions of extra dollars we're talking about. It's not just an extra hundred thousand dollars here.”
She remains optimistic that the stadium will generate new commercial and residential development to help the county.
“I am very hopeful that it will,” Jones said, “but if it does not, then we've made a grave mistake.”
Contact the writer:
444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com
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