The Evansville Redevelopment Commission approved a contract Tuesday with Populous worth up to $1.32 million to begin the initial design of the arena.
Populous, of Kansas City, Mo., will be paid a base fee of $960,000 to prepare the schematic design, the first of four steps in the design process.
It will also receive up to $160,000 for environmental work, geotechnical investigation and site survey, and up to $200,000 for unitemized miscellaneous expenses.
Arena manager John J. Kish told the commission he is very close to completing the entire contract for design services.
The cost for all design services will be around 10 percent of construction costs, which have been estimated at $90 million to $95 million. Kish said local companies from Evansville and the state will be subcontracting with Populus, formerly HOK Sports. He estimated local companies would receive 35 percent to 40 percent of the contracts. Women- and minority-owned businesses will also be included, Kish said.
Some of the companies that will be working with Populus were represented at the meeting. They included Evansville firms Americas Engineers, Hafer Associate and Bernardin Lochmueller & Associates.
"We're really pleased with the mix of this design team," Kish said.
The schematic design phase will take around 60 days to complete. The other three phases are design development, construction drawing and construction work. Once the construction drawing is finished, specific projects will be bid out, Kish said. The actual construction of the arena is expected to take 22 months, beginning late this summer and concluding in mid-2011.
The contract says the project is on a fast track, which means it is being completed in a timely manner to take advantage of low steel, concrete and labor costs, Commission President Bob Goldman said.
The contract, a 57-page document, was delivered to the commission Monday, so members had less than a day to review it before they voted. "Can we get more than 24 hours to review a 57-page document?" Goldman asked the Department of Metropolitan staff.
Executive Director Tom Barnett said his staff is adjusting deadlines so it can deliver paperwork earlier.