Marlins Stadium Update No. 1 of 450 (Foundation work - UPDATED w/photos)
The Florida Marlins entered a significant chapter in construction of their new ballpark this morning, when the concrete was poured for the first of 12 super columns that will support the venue’s roof. (Photos courtesy of the Marlins by Robert Vigon).
The pour was the first of a total 450 foundation pours for the $515 million, 37,000-seat ballpark project. According to a release form the team, the concrete was poured over an 8-foot deep, 40 foot by 40 foot hole. About 250 cubic yards was to be poured this morning out of a total 60,000 cubic yards for the project.
“Starting the first of 12 foundation pours means that the super columns that support the retractable roof will be erected by this fall,” Claude Delorme, Marlins senior vice president of ballpark development, said in a statement. 
Concrete company, Colasanti Specialty Services Inc., is leading the foundation work.
Meanwhile, the team has awarded the contract for construction of the retractable roof to Structal-Heavy Steel Construction, a business unit of Canam Group. The company has worked on dozens of North American sports venues, including BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
The team officially broke ground July 18 for the ballpark scheduled to open in 2012.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
