Crossland Construction Co. Closes in on Ballpark Project

Crossland Construction co. is no stranger to massive, multi-million dollar projects, but even the Columbus, Kan., company with a large footprint in Northwest Arkansas has been challenged by Arvest Ballpark.

CEO Ivan Crossland Jr. said the timeframe to complete the $33 million project in nine months is the tightest the company’s ever had. It is right on schedule for opening day April 10 despite a construction timetable that included the notoriously tricky winter season and two months of near-daily rain following groundbreaking last June 13.

One recent morning he pointed to the lightweight nylon awning by FabriTec Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., stretching the length of two football fields above the skybox level.

“Maybe one project in 10,000 will have that material,” he said.

Managing around 30 subcontractors and more than 300 workers on the job site at 56th Street and Watkins Avenue in Springdale is a daily logistical challenge.

Even the field, a Patriot grass blend shipped in from a sod farm in Maryland, ideal for the area’s climate, presents problems. Crossland said the “biggest” challenge to date was getting the field installed before Oct. 15.

Because of the recent freezing temperatures, it can’t even be walked on, which means equipment and materials have to go around, rather than across, the park and installing the foul ball screen at the backstop will require some delicate maneuvering to protect the field and warning track.

The stadium will have 12,000 SF of total skyboxes and capacity to seat 7,500.

Crossland’s Arvest Ballpark superintendent James Farmer said 11,000 yards of concrete have been poured with some of the biggest forms they’ve ever used thanks to the network of tunnels and clubhouse areas beneath the stadium.

“You have it all,” Farmer said. “This is tough concrete. There’s nothing normal about it.”

Martin DiNitto of HOK Sport, the architects of the ballpark, said he’s been impressed with Crossland’s work.

“They really got the job done,” DiNitto said. “They’ve done an excellent job dealing with the schedule and weather conditions. They have really put attention to detail and we’re very happy with their work out there. They are a good bunch to work with and we appreciate their great effort getting it done.”

Fans of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals can expect a big-league experience at a minor league venue and in some aspects, Naturals supporters will enjoy features not available in major league stadiums such as the curvature of the seating toward home plate. Skybox patrons will enjoy full-length sliding glass doors and individual restrooms in each suite.

HOK designed several venues Arkansas residents may be familiar with, including the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis and AutoZone Park in Memphis, the minor league home of the Cardinals’ AAA affiliate. Twenty of the 30 major league baseball clubs have ballparks designed or renovated by HOK.

“It may sound like a cliché, but we like to borrow from the last project and raise the bar,” DiNitto said. “Springdale really did that. We’ve got some things we haven’t done at the minor league level and there are some real improvements over what is standard issue at ballparks of that size around the country.”