There is no major project in Iowa that has had more potential for delays than the $217-million Iowa Events Center being constructed in Des Moines. But despite labor agreement delays at the outset, questions about the availability of steel for the project and the tight schedule and budget inherent in a public project of its magnitude, the Weitz/Turner construction management team is keeping the Events Center on schedule to be complete in the spring of 2005.

"We're at about 42-percent work in place," said Project Executive Jeff Werthmann in March. "We've been tied up several times with different issues but we're in good shape now. Our biggest challenge is to get the arena enclosed by December so that we'll be able to work through the winter on the interior finishes."

The project includes Wells Fargo Arena, a 17,000-seat facility that will host sporting events, concerts and live entertainment and Hy-Vee Hall, a 250,000-square-foot exhibit hall that provides 100,000 square feet of flat floor space connected to the hall in the lower level of Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Construction began in late 2002.

"We are nearing completion of the steel on the Exhibition Hall and then will put the envelope on it," said Werthmann. "At the arena there are the service level, the main concourse, the suite level, and the upper concourse and we have three pours left on the north side of the upper concourse and then the concourses will be done. On the south end we're putting up some concrete and beams and then we'll start erecting steel for the roof."

Mechanical and electrical work is ongoing throughout the building.

"There has been a lot of discussion in the press and in the community about the fact that we have done a lot of value engineering and worked hard to keep the project on budget," said Werthmann. "Some of that discussion questions whether Polk County, the owner, has compromised on the quality of the building. But I think the people of Polk County and central Iowa are going to be very pleased at what an impressive facility this is going to be. It's a first-class facility and for what may be called a mid-level arena, this is going to be just barely below a professional, NBA-type arena. It's a great design."

Werthmann noted that local contractors in particular have really stepped up and performed very well on the job and that the labor has been good. "We have several subs doing an exceptional job and that includes Waldinger (mechanical), Baker Electric, Seedorf Masonry, Olympic Drywall, Correll Contractor (excavation and backfill) and McAninch (demolition and excavation)."