SPORTS STADIUM BUILDER SKANSKA WINS DESIGN/BUILD CONTRACT
FOR NEW JETS / GIANTS STADIUM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – American units of Skanska AB have been awarded the design/build contract for the new $1.4 billion Meadowlands NFL Football Stadium project in New Jersey. The Skanska contract is valued at $998 million, approximately SEK 7.4 billion and is with the New Meadowlands Football Stadium LLC. It is the largest U.S. project for the Swedish construction company, which has been involved in a number of stadiums in the U.S.
"Skanska has in recent years proven itself to be among the leading sports stadium builders in the world, and has shown a great affinity and understanding of the U.S. market," said Giants president John Mara. "We are very impressed with their capabilities and bringing them on board will help ensure we stay on track to complete this project on time and on budget."
Jets owner Woody Johnson said, "We are pleased to have Skanska as our contractor for the design and build portion of this project. They are up to the challenge and will help us reach our objective of delivering a truly extraordinary facility for our fans, one that will set new standards for the NFL and indeed for stadiums around the world."
The new stadium will be the home field for the New York Jets and the New York Giants, the first facility built specifically to accommodate two U.S. National Football League (NFL) teams. The stadium will also be used for concerts and other entertainment and sports activities.
The new Meadowlands stadium will be a technologically advanced open-air stadium with seats for 82,000 spectators, including 217 Luxury Suite boxes. The stadium project comprises 175,000 square meters and will be part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The project is a design/build assignment, which will be implemented in an internal joint venture of Skanska USA Building and Skanska USA Civil. The units will employ the building and steel-construction expertise gained from previous Skanska stadium projects, including Gillette Stadium in Boston. Skanska USA Civil's share of the new contract amounts to $150 million.
Preparatory work has commenced and construction will be completed for the opening of the 2010 football season. The exterior design for the stadium is expected to be completed by early spring, with groundbreaking slated for later in the spring or early summer.
In the U.S., Skanska has constructed several major stadiums in recent years, such as Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, and the Gillette Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. At present, Skanska is also participating in building of the new Yankee Stadium in New York.
Skanska USA Building Inc. is a leading national and local provider of construction, pre-construction consulting, general contracting and design-build services to a broad range of US industries, including life sciences, healthcare, education, high-tech, aviation, transportation, sports and entertainment. Skanska USA Building also provides pharmaceutical validation services to clients. The company is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, and has approximately 3,700 employees. The company reported sales in 2005 of about SEK 30 billion.
Skanska USA Civil's operations focus on transportation infrastructure and facilities for power generation, water and wastewater treatment in the eastern US, Colorado and California. Skanska USA Civil has some 4,300 employees and had sales totaling approximately SEK 9.4 billion in 2005.
