Huntington Park (Columbus, Ohio)
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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches. |
| Huntington Park | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Columbus's Arena District Columbus, Ohio |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Broke ground | August 2, 2007 |
| Opened | April 2009 (projected) |
| Owner | Franklin County, Ohio government |
| Operator | Franklin County, Ohio government |
| Surface | TBD |
| Construction cost | $56 Million (projected) |
| Tenants | Columbus Clippers (International League) (2009) |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Field dimensions | Left Field - TBD Center Field - TBD Right Field - TBD |
Huntington Park will be the new stadium for the Columbus Clippers, a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the International League currently affiliated with the Washington Nationals. Groundbreaking for the new stadium took place on August 2, 2007, and the stadium opening is planned for the 2009 season. Designed by 360 Architecture, the 10,000-seat stadium is part of a $56 million project. Huntington Park will be located at the corner of Neil Avenue and Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio and will replace the Clippers' current home, Cooper Stadium. In February 2006, the naming rights for the park were purchased by Huntington Bancshares Inc. for $12 million over 23 years.[1]
[edit] Construction Issues
The selection of the construction firms to build the stadium have been a contentious issue. On 5 November 2007, Lithko Contracting of Hamilton, Ohio filed suit against Franklin County. At issue was the fact that the contract for pouring concrete was awarded to Baker Construction despite Lithko's bid coming in $17,500 lower.[2] It was alleged that the Franklin County Commissioners had favored Baker over Lithko because Baker employed union labor and Lithko did not. Because the Commissioners did not want to face delays due to a lawsuit, they awarded the contract to Lithko on 9 November.[3]
The county was subsequently sued two more times by firms after they were denied the contracts despite being low bidders.[4] In those cases, the county rejected the low bid due to allegations of "prevailing wage" violations by the low bidders. State Representative Larry Wolpert (R) has asked the state controlling board not to release $7,000,00 in funds until the low bidders are selected.
[edit] References
- ^ "Huntington buys naming rights for ballpark." Columbus Business First. 7 February 2006.
- ^ Carmen, Barbara (2007-11-06), “Contractor sues for stadium bid”, The Columbus Dispatch, <http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/06/Cementsuit.ART_ART_11-06-07_B1_TV8CSPI.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101>
- ^ Carmen, Barbara (2007-11-10), “Stadium contract awarded to non-union shop”, The Columbus Dispatch, <http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/10/BACKDOWN.ART_ART_11-10-07_A1_DV8E9UE.html?sid=101>
- ^ Carmen, Barbara (2008-03-06), “Union had role in ballpark rules, suit says”, The Columbus Dispatch, <http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/06/stadiumsuit.ART_ART_03-06-08_B1_A99I8R5.html?sid=101>
[edit] External links
| Current ballparks in the International League | ||||
| North Division | South Division | West Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Bank Stadium • Coca-Cola Park Frontier Field • Dunn Tire Park McCoy Stadium • PNC Field |
The Diamond • Durham Bulls Athletic Park Harbor Park • Knights Stadium |
Cooper Stadium • Fifth Third Field Louisville Slugger Field • Victory Field |
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