The Kansas City architecture firm that played a major role in crafting design concepts presented Tuesday — Ellerbe Becket — was not selected by the city to be the architect of the core of a n
DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008 7:00 pm
Before beginning a press conference Tuesday, the mayor played an animated video with a bird’s-eye view of what Lincoln would look like with an arena and hotel near the Haymarket.
The camera zoomed down a street, into an arena and onto the floor of a Husker basketball game.
And the digital crowd cheered.
But Mayor Chris Beutler cautioned the actual crowd gathered outside his office to not look too closely at the buildings on the video, or on the illuminated model sitting on a table nearby.
Even though they depicted what a new arena, hotel and parking garages could look like, the mayor stressed those designs are preliminary.
Both were produced by the team Beutler chose to develop a hotel, conference center, retail, offices and condos — Lincoln Traction Partners, formed by Lincoln developers Will and Robert Scott.
But the Kansas City architecture firm that played a major role in crafting those design concepts — Ellerbe Becket — was not selected by the city to be the architect of the core of the project, the up to 16,000-seat arena.
DLR Group of Omaha nabbed that coveted gig, which promises lucrative design fees if voters approve the whole project next year.
Ellerbe Becket’s design concepts — such as putting one of two hotels inside the arena, with some rooms facing the arena floor — were innovative and caught the eye of the city selection committee that recommended Lincoln Traction. But the mayor stressed his decision wasn’t based on the concept designs, but on the firms’ “qualifications, skills and creativity.”
Ellerbe Becket certainly helped the Lincoln Traction Partners in that regard; while the Scotts have never been involved in an arena project before, Ellerbe Becket has designed more than 50 arenas.
The Scotts also partnered with a national hotel developer and arena developer.
But now that Ellerbe Becket has been passed up as arena architect, the Scotts and DLR will collaborate on plans.
DLR principal and architect Stan Meradith said people should look at the arena and hotel as “two separate projects designed collaboratively.”
And although Lincoln Traction Partners’ proposal to put a hotel inside the arena attracted a lot of interest, Meradith was lukewarm to the idea, saying arena operators might not like the idea and it might be too noisy for hotel occupants. It’s been done before, Meradith noted, in Boise, Idaho, and Toronto.
James Poulson, design director for Ellerbe Becket, was surprised DLR beat out his firm, saying normally DLR doesn’t have enough arena design experience to compete with Ellerbe Becket.
Until it led a team of national firms that designed Qwest Center Omaha, DLR didn’t have much arena design experience. Since then, DLR has done design work on a number of smaller arenas.
DLR designs everything from schools to baseball stadiums, and Poulson likened hiring DLR to design an arena to “asking your general practitioner to do cancer surgery on you.”
“If the city thinks enough of DLR to have them learn to design an arena on their nickel, that’s their (prerogative),” Poulson said.
However, not only does DLR have the advantage of being a Nebraska company, DLR had a foot in the arena door long ago.
Meradith was invited to arena planning meetings more than three years ago and has done a lot of work for the city for free. Meradith noted he never missed a Lincoln meeting he was invited to attend.
By contrast, Poulson said Ellerbe Becket offered to make presentations to city staff and the influential, private 2015 Vision group promoting an arena, but was never taken up on its offer.
And so while Meradith acknowledged “their (Ellerbe Becket’s) resume is deeper than DLR’s,” he thinks his firm’s passion and commitment won the day.
“Last time I checked, a resume doesn’t get a job done,” Meradith said.
Talk about passion — during the mayor’s press conference, Meradith told reporters, “We have worked our whole entire careers for this moment.”
DLR architects are also well-acquainted with the Haymarket area, having designed Haymarket Park, the Memorial Stadium addition, and soon, a multi-million-dollar ice skating center.
On Friday before the mayor’s decision was announced, Poulson was unsure whether Ellerbe Becket would remain on the Lincoln Traction team since they didn’t get the arena job.
“I don’t know that there’s a role for us,” he said.
However, Will Scott said Monday he believes they can find a role for Ellerbe Becket.
“They did have a lot to do with some of what we put together,” he said.
And so just as the Scotts now set out to prove they deserved to beat out Missouri hotelier John Q. Hammons, DLR must show it can design an arena as well as Ellerbe Becket.
Pretty pictures notwithstanding.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.