The Cubs' 65,000-sq-ft, stand-alone clubhouse includes a lower level with locker rooms, a workout/weight room and pre-manufactured hydrotherapy pools, for which Suntec poured a cast-in-place deck that included block outs that the tubs were lowered into. A second level includes offices and an outside balcony.

More Than Just A Ballpark

The site also includes 11 miles of underground utilities.

"It was a huge underground project," says Baker, referring to the site's main irrigation line that loops from the lake around the entire complex to provide water for the stadium, six practice fields and a 14-acre site just east of the ballpark that serves as grass parking during spring training and city soccer fields for the remainder of the year.

A future commercial/retail development area, known as Wrigleyville West, is also in the planning stages for the site.

"Interest in the development around the stadium has been good," says William Jabjiniak, economic development director for the city of Mesa. "We are in conversations with two different hotels, which are looking at the Wrigleyville West development area."

The site has 2 million sq ft of grass, which required precise scheduling efforts before it was planted and careful attention to site navigation afterward.

"Getting that amount of work done in this time frame has been a challenge. There are a lot of elements here that you would not normally have," Baker says.

The city hands over the player development complex to the Cubs in October, but will continue to manage the park, which includes a large splash pad, a 50-ft-tall rope climber, a fountain feature, ramadas and a colonnade that connects the park to the east side of the stadium site.

According to Ross Renner, engineering manager for Mesa, the project was slightly under budget and on schedule as of late August.

The city of Mesa and Hunt Construction easily surpassed their goal of awarding 20% of the direct construction cost to Mesa contractors, Renner says.