Emergency repairs underway at JetBlue Park to prevent catastrophic damage

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lee County says repairs to the fairly new JetBlue Park in Fort Myers could save lives. Commissioners are slated to approve a quarter-million dollar budget for the repairs next week, but construction has already started.

In 2012 JetBlue Park became home to the Boston Red Sox Spring Training games, welcoming 11,000 fans to their stands. But, Commissioner Brian Hamman says the facility already needs repairs.


“We’re concerned about the safety of the facility. So, they shut it down. They made sure that nobody went over it, and they started repairing as soon as possible,’ he said.

Photos released by the county show cracks in the concrete base of the skyway connection, both on the north and south ends. The skyway is the elevated sidewalk that connects one side of the stadium to the other.

Last month, Lee County’s procurement management director requested the emergency purchase for $250,000, stating the concrete walkway has become compromised and could be “an extremely catastrophic if not fatal situation if it were to collapse.”

“The repairs were so serious and so urgent, that they began working on it, and now they’re going to ask the commissioners to approve the emergency repairs retroactively,” said Hamman.

The $78 million stadium’s only about 9 years old. Hamman says the damage could be caused by several different factors.

“Concrete does crack over time, and deteriorate over time. The sun does beat down over the stadium over time. Also, in Florida has water intrusion as well, where the water seems to creep in, and deteriorate certain structures,” he said.
https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-news/emergency-repairs-underway-at-jetblue-park-to-prevent-catastrophic-damage
this reminds me of that bridge in FLA that collapsed during construction a few years ago. If.I remember correctly, the concrete was one of the main causes of the structural failure.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

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canderson

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This same issue a few years ago shut down that new $60m high school stadium in Texas so many were up in arms about. Allen had to play all road games for a season while they corrected the foundation.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Jul 15, 2005
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$250K to stop “catastrophic damage” seems like a really good deal.
Yeah. Also, they have a hard time mixing concrete that will last a decade? Hoping they don’t come to Minneapolis, where we get get sun, 95 degrees in summer, plus 20 degrees on average for 3 months out of the year! Fortunately, Target Field has held up...
 

Manramsclan

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Jul 14, 2005
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Yeah. Also, they have a hard time mixing concrete that will last a decade? Hoping they don’t come to Minneapolis, where we get get sun, 95 degrees in summer, plus 20 degrees on average for 3 months out of the year! Fortunately, Target Field has held up...
This reminded me of the solar company I used to work at. Offices in San Diego and Boston. During one conference call the Project Manager from San Diego said the delays in the project were due to the cold temperatures and the inability to work with some materials. People on the call from Boston and us ex-pats in the San Diego office literally burst into laughter.
I don't think that PM lasted too much longer.
 

joe dokes

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Some time ago, I was watching an ST game on TV with some team playing its first ST game in their new ST home (late 80s-early 90s; long before Sox/JetBlue). The first batter fouled a pitch stright back and it broke the "glass" in front of a tv camera. "I wonder who put that in," the announcer mused. "The low bidder," was the color guy's reply.