Majority of Arena Workers are Local - Area Businesses Awarded Majority of Construction Contracts
The new Evansville Arena Project is having a positive impact on the local economy, with 81 percent of the people who have worked on the project from the Tri-State and 64% of all contracts awarded to local businesses.
To date, 1,430 people have completed safety orientation training before being able to work on-site and they have also logged 593,356 hours on the project. According to Hunt Construction, 1,160 of those working on the arena are members of local trade unions. An initial economic impact study, completed before construction on the arena began, estimated that only 50 percent of jobs created would be from local labor.
“I am pleased that we have been able to keep a majority of the arena jobs and dollars in the Tri-State. The construction of the arena has helped support more than 1,000 local families by putting men and women from our community to work during these difficult economic times. The project has also benefitted area businesses which have been awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars,” said Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel.
A total of 39 arena construction contracts have been awarded for a total of $85.9 million with $55.3 million awarded to Evansville-area firms. The largest single contract was a $12.7 million package awarded to Industrial Contractors, Inc. from Evansville. Several of the competitively bid contracts that have gone to companies from outside the area were for items such as hockey ice systems, elevators, a scoreboard, and arena seating. Although these specialized services and products were not expected to be available from Evansville contractors, many are utilizing local labor.
The following are Evansville-area contractors that have won contracts in the arena project:
| Arc Construction | Masonry, Hard Floors and Ceramic Tile |
| Architectural Sales Division of Lensing Wholesale, Inc. | Overhead Doors and Shutters, Loading Docks |
| ATC Associates, Inc. | Testing and Inspection |
| Bernardin Lochmeuller and Associates, Inc. | Testing and Inspection |
| Business Environments, Inc. | Furniture |
| Danco Construction, Inc. | Millwork, Soft Floors |
| Deig Brothers Lumber & Construction, Inc. | Cast in Place Concrete Superstructure, Drywall, Hollow Metal Doors, Frames and Hardware |
| Elite Environmental & Safety Services, Inc. | Main Street Building Abatement |
| Hudson Office Solutions | Furniture |
| Industrial Contractors, Inc. | Electrical, Low-Voltage Electrical |
| Klenck Company | Demolition |
| Lehman Roofing, Inc. | Roofing |
| Patriot Engineering | Testing and Inspection |
| Peyronnin Construction Co. | HVAC and Controls; Plumbing |
| Precision Piping and Mechanical | Sewer Relocation |
| Sterling Boiler and Mechanical, Inc. | Site/Civil Improvements |
| Tri-State Fire Protection, Inc. | Fire Protection |
| T.S.F. Company | Portalets |
| Weddle Brothers Building Group, LLC | Foundation |
Construction is on time and on budget, with the Arena scheduled to open in November 2011. The multi-purpose Evansville Arena will be the region’s center for sports and entertainment, designed to host basketball, hockey, concerts, exhibitions, and shows for audiences as large as 11,000.
