Kinco Quarterbacks UA Athletic Projects

Kinco Inc. of Little Rock proved in 1996 it could “fast-track” athletic facility projects when it turned Baum Stadium’s delayed construction into an on-time, on-budget work of art. The general contractor, which has operated a full-service Springdale office since 1991, parlayed that invited bid into landing this year’s Randal Tyson Track Center job from the privately held Razorback Foundation Inc.

Out-of-state heavy hitters like Beers Construction Co. of Atlanta and DiCarlo Construction Co. of Kansas City, Mo., routinely step in to bid on the UA’s major projects, such as the current $65 million-plus renovation of Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

But when it comes to local contractors, Kinco is the king of “The Hill.”

“We didn’t intend to specialize in sports contracts,” said Tommy Wasson, Kinco’s vice president of Northwest Arkansas operations. “We just got the chance to do some projects for the university, and because of the relationship we developed and the job we did, it gave us the opportunity to do other things.”

Kinco has been the general contractor for five UA athletic department projects totaling $13.97 million during the past decade. The projects include:

• Randal Tyson Track Center construction, $6.6 million, completed February 2000.

• John McDonnell Field renovations, $225,000, completed November 1997.

• Baum Stadium construction, $4.6 million, completed May 1996.

• Walton Arena Sixth Street parking construction, $2.3 million, completed 1993.

• Walton Arena walkways, $250,000, completed 1993.

And that’s not even all of the sports-related work the company has tackled. Kinco was also the general contractor for the remodeling for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s baseball facilities, indoor golf practice area, Trojan Field House and Little Rock’s Rebsamen Tennis Center. It’s building the new $3.5 million Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and doing a $3.5 million remodeling job at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Kinco’s Baum Stadium work impressed Collegiate Baseball enough in 1997 so that the publication ranked the facility the No. 1 college baseball stadium in America. Bob Butler, Kinco’s vice president of marketing, said the Baum project started over budget and behind schedule, but Kinco focused on “value engineering.”

“Whenever there’s a team that needs a quarterback, Kinco has the ability to perform,” Butler said. “We offer estimating, project management and job supervision for all of our clients. We can pull a project together and make it happen.”

Razorback Foundation president Chuck Dicus stressed that an objective selection process is conducted for all of his company’s project bids. But he did say that Kinco’s past performances boded well for it when the track center’s bids were awarded.

“Kinco is competitive,” Dicus said. “Once they get the job, they take care of business. They’re extremely good in the final stages, when the final punch list touches are being taken care of. Projects get tense at that time because it’s coming down to deadline and the budget is getting tight.

“But Kinco is great at looking at the last minute details from an owner’s perspective.”