The Dallas City Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution that establishes a construction manager at risk agreement for pre-construction and construction services for the Cotton Bowl.
The resolution authorizes $145,000 to be paid to JE Dunn-Russell — the general contractor construction firm that received the highest ranking of the two respondents of the project — to provide the services.
“Construction management at risk, commonly known as CMAR, is a project delivery method by which a construction project owner employs a construction manager — typically a general contractor — to consult on the development of a construction project,” the Indeed Career Guide explains. “Once the project design is nearly settled, the construction manager determines the guaranteed maximum price (GMP), a fundamental element of CMAR. The GMP represents a cost threshold that the construction manager is contractually bound to honor.”
Multiple factors, including the budget, complexity, and schedule constraints, contributed to the council’s decision to use a manager at risk for this project.
The Cotton Bowl Renovation, Rehabilitation and Addition Project was approved by the Dallas City Council on August 10, 2022, and is expected to have a budget of $110,000,000.
Two phases are planned for the project moving forward, with the first phase having of a $56 million budget and an expected completion date of August 1, 2024.
Finishing the first phase on this timeline means the first portion of the Cotton Bowl renovations will be completed before the 2024 Texas State Fair, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The second phase of these renovations will begin shortly after the close of the fair and will have an allocated budget of $54 million.
Renovations for the second phase will also take roughly one year and be completed on August 1, 2025, shortly before the 2025 fair opens.
Bryan Trubey of Overland Partners, the Dallas-based architectural firm responsible for the project, said that the changes outlined in the project will “keep all the strength of the Cotton Bowl but improve the accommodations and the amenities.”
“I think this is going to be a giant step into having the Cotton Bowl transform from somewhat of a latent asset to one of the biggest economic impacts for the city. Experientially, it’s an amazing building. I think once we combine those two things, there’ll be a lot better national awareness of the Cotton Bowl.”
This resolution is just one of the changes passed by the city council during the meeting on Wednesday, with members authorizing a total spending amount of $195,989,878 in taxpayer funds.
