January 2008 saw an agreement between the Atlanta Braves, the Gwinnet Convention and the Visitors Bureau. The agreement finalized the plans to bring the Gwinnet Braves home.

The decision was reached based on a feasibility study conducted by the Gwinnet Commission and the Visitors bureau, which shortlisted Gwinnet County as the strongest markets in the country to support a baseball team.

The Challenge

This time the race was against time. The construction team had not a day more than a year to complete the stadium.

The Solution 

Nestled on a 12-acre site in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the new home of the Gwinnett Braves was first realized by Gwinnett County Commissioner Bert Nasuti, when he expressed his dream of bringing a minor league baseball team to the County during a planning retreat in 2006.

A feasibility study, conducted by the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2007, concluded “the demographic and socioeconomic makeup of Gwinnett County and the surrounding areas provide one of the strongest markets in the country to support a minor league baseball team.”

By late 2007, the Atlanta Braves suggested relocating their minor league team to Gwinnett County, and with that, an agreement was signed in January 2008, between the Atlanta Braves and the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, to bring the Braves home.

Bringing on the ‘AAA’ Team

Forrest Brewer, the general superintendent for Barton Malow Company, the construction manager of the project, and his team, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, hired Precision Concrete Construction (Precision) as the concrete sub-contractor. Precision then hired Smyrna, Georgia-based Pioneer as the concrete pump sub-contractor, and LaFarge of North America as the concrete ready mix company.

With the 2009 baseball season slated for the unveiling of the new stadium and new team, a tight timeline was set into place, with work quickly beginning in April 2008 – exactly one year before the home opener of the new facility.

“Because of the strict schedule, we wanted to make sure we chose a concrete pump company that had all the necessary equipment to get the job done on time and on demand without question,” says Justin Garrett, project manager for Precision.”

“To pump the 10,785 cubic yards of concrete (8,246 m³), our team brought on our entire fleet of concrete pumps, from our compact 20Z-Meter to our seven-axle 63Z-Meter,” says Chuck Maddox, sales representative for Pioneer.

As Garrett adds, “With their vast range of concrete pumps, we knew we could rely on them for having the right size pump and boom reach for whatever the project required from day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour.”

Beating the Clock

“The concrete pump company was a true team player, providing the ultimate flexibility and dependability of their pumps, given the multiple changes to the architectural drawings of the stadium and the necessity to maintain the original concrete placement schedule to a ‘T’,” comments Millard Farmer, superintendent for Precision.

The $58.1-million design-build stadium project includes three sections: Building A on the home field side, Building B on the visitors side, and Area C, the press box behind home plate and where Buildings A and B connect.

The concrete pump company pumped and placed concrete for all three sections and faced a strict concrete placement timeline:
• June through August 2008: 1,250 cubic yards (956 m³) of concrete for all footings
• August 2008: 370 cubic yards (283 m³) of concrete for Building A’s slab-on-grade
• September 2008: 607 cubic yards (464 m³) of concrete for Building B’s slab-on-grade
• August and September 2008: 1,100 cubic yards (841 m³) of concrete for the Tunnel walls, dugouts and field walls
• September through December 2008: 1,810 cubic yards (1,384 m³) of concrete for the seating bowl
• September 2008: 550 cubic yards (421 m³) of concrete for Building A’s concourse level elevated slab at top of seating bowl
• September 2008: 400 cubic yards (306 m³) of concrete for Building B’s concourse level elevated slab at top of seating bowl
• October 2008: 690 cubic yards (528 m³) of concrete for Building A’s suite level elevated slab
• October 2008: 565 cubic yards (432 m³) of concrete for Building B’s suite level elevated slab
• October 2008: 289 cubic yards (221 m³) of concrete for Area C suite level
• September through November 2008: 550 cubic yards (421 m³) of concrete for Building A and Building B’s architectural walls and columns
• November and December 2008: 530 cubic yards (405 m³) of concrete for topping slabs
• January through March 2009: 681 cubic yards (521 m³) for hardscapes

“Our boom pumps were placing 500 cubic yards (382 m³) of concrete on average per week, but on our best week, as much as 1,088 cubic yards (832 m³) was pumped and placed,” explains Maddox. “We were steadily on site five to six days a week, and had as many as three pumps on site at one time.”

“All of Pioneer’s pumps showcased their extreme mobility,” adds Brian McCormick, general superintendent for Precision. “Some days, we’d pump and place in four or five locations with one pump. All of their pumps moved easily from location to location.”

“In addition, the flexibility of their boom pump fleet was a tremendous advantage to have on this job,” says Garrett. “When the 38Z-Meter pumped and placed Area C’s concourse level slab, the structural concrete frame was already installed, so the pump easily maneuvered its four-section, Multi-Z boom under the structure to reach exactly where the concrete needed to be placed.”

The 47Z-Meter also flexed its adaptability muscle on site.

“As the five-section 47Z placed concrete for Building B’s concourse level topping slab, its Z-Fold boom configuration was able to handle the restrictive space and easily navigate its way down and around the structural concrete frame,” says Garrett.

The 47Z placed 112 cubic yards of concrete (86 m³) for this section.

“Due to job site conditions we had to have the boom pump back a certain distance from where the concrete would actually be placed,” comments Maddox. “With the 47Z we were able to achieve its maximum horizontal reach of 138' 1" (42.09 m) and place the concrete without having to add any extra hose system, keeping the job site clean.”

This concrete pump was also on hand to pump and place concrete for the seating bowl of the stadium, and on the same day, easily relocated to another spot on the site where it placed 12 cubic yards of concrete (9.2 m³) for the caisson footing for a stadium light pole.

“The strict schedule demanded both pours be completed in the same day, and we knew we could depend on our versatile 47Z,” says Maddox.

Maddox continues, “And during one of our night pours, our 58-Meter pitched in to pump 360 cubic yards of concrete (275 m³) at 108 cubic yards per hour (83 m³/hr) for the suite level’s elevated slab in Building B. The width and elevation of this slab were so great that it required the 58-Meter’s maximum vertical reach of 188' 1" (57.33 m) to get up and across the deck. Because of the unit’s vertical reach, we didn’t have to move the 58 – it stayed in the same location for the entire pour.

The concrete pump company’s powerful 63Z-Meter also made an appearance on site pumping and placing 61 cubic yards (47 m³) of concrete for handicap seating, or ADA platforms, in the VIP seating area.

“We couldn’t access the field so we had the pump located in the player’s parking lot, and used its 190' 7" (58 m) horizontal reach to stretch the five-section Z-Fold boom over a portion of Building A and to the point of placement,” says Garrett.

In addition, the pump company also had their compact City Pump on site to pump and place 18 cubic yards (14 m³) of concrete for metal pan stairs.

The Mixed Lineup

Eight different types of concrete mixes were pumped and placed by Pioneer’s boom pumps. The mixes were used for footings, slab-on-grades, columns, walls, elevated decks, architectural walls, topping slabs/paving and the seating bowl.

“For the footings, we used a 3,000-psi mix,” says Chris Benifield, senior project manager for Precision. “The slab-on-grade mix for the exterior of the seating bowl includes more entrained air in it to help against freeze/thaw cycles.

“In addition, the slab-on-grade interior mix was a 4,000-psi mix. The architectural wall concrete mix used a smaller aggregate to provide fewer voids around architectural reveals in formwork.”

The elevated beam and slab mix required a high early strength mix design. The high early mix contained more cement to help reach its design strength faster and a higher overall strength than usual, according to Benifield. The mix allowed the concrete to reach 3,000 psi in as little as one day, the strength Benifield’s team needed in order to strip the formwork under the slab and continue on with their work. This mix fit perfectly with the fast-paced schedule of the project.

“In addition to the other mixes, we also used Chronolia, a LaFarge innovative concrete that retains its work-ability for two hours, offering easy placement, while achieving high early strength due to accelerated hydration growth giving us the ability to strip form work 4 hours after batching,” adds Benifield. “We used this mix on some of the columns at the suite level so the structural steel columns could be placed the next day.”
 

The Gwinnett Braves’ new stadium

It’s a Home Run!

The Gwinnett Braves are well into their inaugural season and settling into their new home. The new stadium, according to the County’s economist, Dr. Alfie Meek, is estimated to bring in $15 million new economic activity to the county, support about 200 new jobs countywide and generate approximately $6.5 million in new personal income.

Concrete Takeaways

• The new stadium, according to the County’s economist, Dr. Alfie Meek, was estimated to bring in $15 million new economic activity to the county, support about 200 new jobs countywide and generate approximately $6.5 million in new personal income.
   
• The entire fleet of Putzmeister’s concrete pumps, right from the compact 20Z-Meter to the seven-axle 63Z-Meter, were deployed.