Coors Field Rooftop Expansion

Colorado's field of dreams

A Little Bit of History While the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball (MLB) team is just in its 21st season, the history of this MLB expansion team is truly ancient. While the original plan for Coors Field, located at the now-famed corner of 20th and Blake Street in Denver, was for a modest stadium of 43,800 seats, the first season of Rockies baseball, played at Mile High Stadium, set an all-time MLB single season attendance record of 4.5 million. Due to the mass amount of fans and inter- est, the construction team added an additional section to the stadium plans – specifically the right upper deck.

Hailed as one of the most spectacular stadiums in MLB, Coors Field’s history goes beyond its 1991-1995 construction. In 1994, the construction team made a discovery of ancient archaeologi- cal proportions – a Cretaceous-era dinosaur egg, an unidentified dinosaur rib, and the crown-jew- el: a 7-foot-long, 1,000-pound Triceratops’ skull. The discoveries of the fossils led to the birth of Dinger – the purple dinosaur mascot of the Colorado Rockies.

Coors Field officially opened for the start of the 1995 MLB season, hosting its first game on April 26th. The rest, as they say, is history.

In With the New, Out With the Old Baseball is America’s game. From sing-alongs like ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ to foot-long hotdogs and Cracker Jacks, a day at the ballpark is an iconic way to spend a spring or summer day. But even baseball, a time-honored and revered sport since 1871, must evolve with the times. Today’s generation wants a bit more ‘dazzle and wow’ with the purchase of their baseball tick- et. Cultivating the next generation of fans, the Colorado Rockies announced in October of 2013 plans to add a brand new rooftop viewing and entertainment area on the upper right field deck and concourse. Populous, the original architect on Coors Field, created a master plan for the new, two-level, 38,000 square-foot area to include multiple bars, restaurants and social gathering areas to be completed with a ‘LoDo’ (Lower Denver) theme including stunning views of the Rocky Mountains. There’s No ‘I’ in Team

To help bring the new rooftop area to life, the Colorado Rockies partnered with Mortenson Construction (general contractor), Populous (architect) and ME Engineering (engineer). With a proven track record of successfully completing complex stadium projects, RK Mechanical, Inc. was selected as the mechanical contractor of choice for the Rooftop at Coors Field.

Colorado Winter Chill There were a number of challenges regarding scheduling on the project that occurred while RK was on-site including an extremely short time line and the freezing temperatures that come with Colorado winters. Although the project was relatively quick, it was in turn, long and grinding.

The crew worked outside in the dead of winter and experienced multiple delays due to negative twenty degree temperatures. Not only were the team’s toes and fingers numb, the adhesive glues would actually freeze during installation - limiting exposure duration. On several occasions, the team would have to stop work for the inclement weather and work longer shifts the following week to make up for the schedule delays. The weather was best summed up by Phillip Gaines, RK Mechanical Project Manager, who stated, “It’s frustrating to have to stop work for Mother Nature. Sometimes she just won’t cooperate.”

In order to meet the quick project deadline and combat the unpredictable weather, team members were asked to work 60-70 hours per week. This daunting task was met with employee perks and motivating incentives including weekly gift card drawings during stretch and bends to those who worked over 60 hours the week before. This tactic kept employee moral high and inspired the team to keep pushing toward the project deadline.

The Unexpected

In addition to the quick schedule and wicked winter weather, the RK team was met with an additional obstacle - the stadium itself. Half of the area below the concourse level was above part of the stadium seating. In order for the team to complete the below slab plumbing, they had to erect a 250-foot long, 30-foot wide and 30-foot tall ‘dance floor’ scaffolding. The dance floor allowed the team to reach the below slab to install the new plumbing system. The team’s creativity was also tested while setting project equipment due to the downtown loca- tion. The team was tasked with placing the make-up air units (MAUs) by flying them in over the top of the stadium without disrupting or hitting any of the expensive and hard to replace stadium lighting. Completing this assignment involved an extremely large crane and meticulous attention to detail. The crew was able to place all of the project equipment without error due to constant communication and team collaboration.

A True Team Player

Value engineering generates alternatives that secure essential system functions at the best project value. Implementation and rigorous use of value engineering strategies help to keep the project within budget. RK Mechanical’s level of experience in selecting equipment, systems options and constructability all play a major role in the value engineering effort. On the Rooftop at Coors Field project, the RK Mechanical team followed strict processes to keep the project within budget, while maintaining the integrity of the design intent. Below is the list of recommended strategies RK presented for the project:

1. Eliminate Transfer Fans, Use Low Grilles, Eliminate Top Course of Brick 2. Combine FCU 4-1 + 4-2 3. Combine FCU 4-3 + 4-4 4. One UH Per Space Interlocked with BMS 5. Utilize Dome Exhaust Fans for Restrooms 6. Utilize PVC AG Waste + Vent 7. Utilize PVC AG Storm 8. Utilize PEX for all Domestic Water 1” and Below 9. Combine EWH 10. Reuse EWH 5C3

Committed to Safety + Quality As an ISO 9001:2008, ASME and AISC certified contractor and OSHA VPP Star Mobile Work- force accredited company, RK Mechanical is rooted in tested processes designed to deliver pre- dictable results. By ensuring clarity of goals and expectations, the RK Mechanical team was able to effectively work with on-site personnel without compromise to safety and quality standards.

RK Mechanical’s safety policy clearly defines its commitment to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, to ensure that every employee makes it home from work, every day, to their families. This is stated in RK’s Safety and Health Ownership in the Workplace (SHOW) Me program that serves as the foundation of the OSHA VPP program. RK Mechanical insists on maintaining constant involvement throughout all phases of each project to deliver the best quality finished product. This was achieved on the Rooftop at Coors Field project by following the pre-established step-by-step process including:

1. Identify High Risk Activities: Create a plan to maintain control.

2. Identify Training Requirements and Schedule: Specialized products/procedures identified so that proper training and/or installation guidelines may be addressed.

3. Develop a Project Specific QA and Test Plan: A written Quality Assurance plan developed for each major element of the project.

4. Preparatory Meetings: A meeting held prior to each major element of work to ensure that all parties are in agreement about work to be performed.

5. Initial Inspections: Upon work completion it will be inspected by all invested parties to ensure that the finished product meets the requirements and intent.

6. Sustained Quality Assurance: Verification of quality will be monitored as required.

In addition to the processes mentioned above, the team also took ‘production timeouts’ while working on the job to allow team members to walk each others completed work to check for deficiencies. This allowed for a second set of fresh eyes to verify product/system quality.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game The Rooftop at Coors Field project was finished in March of 2014 just before Opening Day in April. The new 38,000 square-foot space hosts a plethora of food vendors including the Tavern Ballpark, CHUBurger Colorado Craft Casual Grill and Tuaca Terrace Bar. In addition to the new restaurants and bars, fans can utilize the new garden setting area and cabanas, watch the game on the outdoor TVs, enjoy pre-game entertainment and, of course, root for their favorite Colorado Rockies to win! Exterior In-Progress Dance Floor Scaffolding Dance

RK Mechanical, Inc. l The Rooftop at Coors Field l Mechanical: Commercial less than $2 million Installed Airstar Fans RK Team Continues Rough-In Flying in Makeup-Air Unit View from the Rooftop