In October of 2007, the University Of Northern British Columbia opened the Northern Sport Centre. The construction of the building came in on schedule and on budget thanks to the expert handling of the Design Build Contract by Western Industrial Contractors Ltd.
The construction budget for the spectacular building was $29 Million and included the clearing of a 12 acre lot and installing all the sire services into the campus infrastructure, parking lots and landscaping. The building consists of two indoor soccer pitches of artificial turf, three basketball courts, two squash courts, weight and circuit rooms, physiotherapy and sports medicine rooms, aerobic studio, change rooms, concession, multi purpose room, an aesthetically pleasing timbered reception area and a 280 meter elevated running track.
I was very impressed with the WIC construction team in that they consistently considered the client’s needs and their willingness to go above and beyond within a fixed budget in resolving many challenges. In this process WIC looked at innovative methods of reducing construction time without compromising the finished product. An example being pumping the 40 foot high concrete columns from the bottom of a single form using self compacting concrete; integrally with the horizontal beams supporting the elevated running track. This saved approximately 32 days of construction time. Another challenge was installing a curved 60 meter clear span metal Behlen roof at temperatures reaching -30 C with high winds and heavy snow.
The University of Northern British Columbia was extremely pleased with all aspects of the project performed by WIC and would have no hesitation in partnering with them in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Godfrey Medhurst,
Director of Campus Planning & Capital Projects