The Tampa Bay Rays have selected the global contractor firm AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction as the construction manager at risk for its proposed $2.3 billion stadium project.
AECOM Hunt and Turner were chosen from four bids answering the team’s July request for qualifications. A committee met at Hillsborough College on Monday to publicly review the applications before announcing a decision.
In addition to its experience in building professional stadiums, AECOM Hunt has an extensive track record with the Rays and the region. That includes building Tropicana Field and replacing the St. Petersburg ballpark’s roof after it was destroyed by Hurricane Milton.
AECOM Hunt and Turner have teamed up repeatedly as joint-venture construction managers on major stadiums and arenas over the past two decades.
AECOM Hunt’s massive stadium portfolio also includes Raymond James Stadium and Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Citi Field in New York, and Hard Rock Stadium’s shade addition in Miami. The firm is nearing completion of the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium in Nashville.
The Rays put out the contractor request before a final agreement on nearly $1 million in public financing was approved by the Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commission. The Rays have committed to spending more than $1.2 billion on stadium construction.
That was necessary because of the team’s aggressive construction timeline, which requires the stadium to open by March 2029. To make that deadline, work needs to begin by next month. The Rays’ lease at Tropicana Field ends after the 2028 season.
"The sooner you solve who’s going to do the work the easier it is to get started," Hillsborough College president Ken Atwater said.
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Negotiations on definitive documents are ongoing, although Atwater said last week that they should be released publicly within days. Votes by the city and county could be scheduled soon after.
The stadium would anchor a 122-acre project on state-owned land that is currently home to Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus on North Dale Mabry Highway. A renovated campus is included in a privately financed multi-use development that would surround the ballpark.
The college recently reapplied for land-use changes for the campus site. The request was adjusted after a previous attempt was halted by a July 23 city council vote that would have transmitted the changes to state officials for review. The Hillsborough Planning Commission is expected to review the new application in November.
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Like most public-private projects of this size, it will use a “construction manager at risk” model, in which the builder agrees to a “guaranteed maximum price.” By locking in a cost ceiling, the contract effectively shifts the financial risk of budget overruns away from taxpayers and the team and places it on the construction firm.
The construction manager at risk will oversee the “construction, commissioning and close-out of the project,” according to the request for qualifications.
The selection committee included Atwater, along with Rays co-president Matt Silverman, Rays chief experience officer Jim Pfander, consultant Bob Ellis and Metro Development president Jim Bavouset.
Other requests for qualifications were submitted by Mortenson and Beck, Gilbane and Barton Malow, and H.J. Russell. Mortenson was selected over AECOM Hunt for a planned $1.3 billion Rays stadium that was never built in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District.
“We appreciate all of the firms that participated in the CMAR public procurement process for the new Rays Forever Home. This is the next step in the proposed ballpark effort, and we look forward to entering into an agreement with AECOM/Hunt,” Rays CEO said in statement.
