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Banking on an Arena
Turner, Rossetti under way with Ontario facility
By Greg Aragon
Ontario, California may not see much snow, but when the city’s new $130 million Citizens Business Bank Arena opens in winter 2008, there will be plenty of ice.
“This project is fulfilling a requirement in the region for sports and entertainment,” says Mary Jane Olhasso, Ontario economic development director. “We have been underserved for decades and for years we have had studies prepared that concluded that this region could support a sports and entertainment venue. And now we are finally getting one.”
Olhasso says the city-owned arena will not only serve Ontario’s 175,000 residents, but also the 4 million people that live throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties. She said that Los Angeles-based AEG, which will operate the arena, has guaranteed the city $1 million a year in revenue.
The 250,000-sq-ft project, which broke ground in March of this year, is being led by New York-based Turner Construction Company, which is serving as construction manager. Rossetti Architects of El Segundo is the architect.
When complete next October, the arena is expected to host more than 140 events annually. This will include 9,500 fixed seats with additional “portable” seating risers to accommodate capacities of 11,089 for concerts, 10,832 for basketball and arena football, and 9,736 for ice hockey. Olhasso said AEG is currently working on securing a professional minor league hockey team.
The complex will also feature 36 luxury suites on two levels and a continuous concourse hosting a variety of refreshment stands and merchandise kiosks, a VIP club and other fan amenities. Behind the scenes, there will be state-of-the-art broadcasting capabilities, 7,000 sq ft of storage space, and locker rooms and training areas.
Located on a 37-acre parcel between Haven and Milliken avenues, a couple blocks north of the I-10 Freeway, the arena will be a centerpiece for the $900 million Piemonte at the Ontario Center, a mega-urban, mixed-use project, with Class A office, specialty retail, a 275-room hotel, entertainment and urban living components.
Tim Lambert, Rossetti’s principal in charge, said the arena’s sleek, contemporary design will not only compliment Piemonte, but also factor in surrounding landscape and climate.
“There are strong [Santa Ana] winds in the area, so we designed the entrances on the south to be protected and we placed the windows to have views of the San Gabriel Mountains,” says Lambert, whose firm also designed the Palace at Auburn Hills, which hosts Detroit Pistons basketball.
The facility’s slanted, airplane wing-like roof was is a nod to nearby Ontario Airport, says John Truong, Rossetti project designer.
“The thought was when a plane takes off, the [roof] can follow that air dynamic flow,” said Troung.
From a construction standpoint, the building utilizes a structural precast concrete frame with structural steel roof trusses and an architectural precast concrete exterior wall.
Kevin Dow, vice president & operations manager for Turner, said the project is highlighted by the moment frame created by the structural precast, which eliminates the need for a shear wall design.
“The structural moment frame not having shear walls is definitely a unique feature,” says Dow. “This is not typical of stadium construction which usually consists of a concrete or steel frame with a shear wall design. The Citizens Business Bank Arena structural moment frame design is one-of-a-kind in using this technology to date.”
Nuts and Bolts Figures:
- 1137 pieces of structural precast members
- 1.6 million pounds of rebar
- 5,000 CY of precast concrete
- The heaviest moment frame column weighs 105,000 lbs
- 1,820 tons of steel for the roof & trusses
- 13.5 mi of pipe in ice floor system
- There are 12 224-ft trusses that span the arena
- 70,000 cu yds of dirt was excavated for the event-level bowl and an additional 25,000 CY was removed off site to bring the site to grade
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The Project Team
Developer: AEG, Los Angeles
Construction Manager: Turner Construction Co.,
Architect: Rossetti Architects, El Segundo
Key Subcontractors
Structural Precast: Mid State Precast LP, Corcoran,
Structural Steel: Schuff Steel Co., Phoenix
Cast-in-Place Concrete: Coan Construction Co., Pomona
Architectural Precast: Clark Pacific, Fontana
Glass Glazing: Carmel Architectural Sales, Anaheim
HVAC: Couts Heating & Cooling, Corona
Electrical/Life Safety/Security: Morrow Meadows Corp., City of Industry
Fire Protection: Cosco Fire, Los Angeles
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