Civic Arena paint project picked up by new contractor

By Riley Funk

A different company is taking over the Civic Arena paint project after the city council approved a new contract at its April 1 meeting.

The contract is now being fulfilled by G.A. Thompson. Funding was approved in October for internal and external painting of the Civic Arena, as the paint is fading and showing wear and tear.

Jeff Atkins, assistant parks director, said the painting is a big need because the building is over 40 years old.

“It was time to repaint,” Atkins said.

According to city documents, the original low bidder, CertaPro Painters, was unable to complete the project. To get out of the project bid, which was set at $419,545.16, the group paid $20,977.26.

This amount of revenue will go toward the newly awarded contract with G.A Thompson. The total cost of the project will now sit at $431,799.74 after the group agreed to reduce its bid price using the money paid by CertaPro Painters.

Changes will also be made to the paint design. City documents say the design will be simplified to have horizontal lines painted instead of a flowing curvature on the outside of the building.

The inside of the arena will look different as well.

“Colors will be changing to a series of different shades of gray. They’ll mimic our bleacher seats. The lower portion will be a little bit darker gray. As you progress up the wall, they’ll get lighter. The ceiling is going to be all black,” Atkins said. “It’s going to make it look crisp and production-ready.”

Atkins said the timeline of the project was set back slightly while a new contract was awarded, but it’s not a huge worry.

“The way our contracts work and the way the city purchasing things are set up, if we run into a snafu along the way, there’s already steps in place of every project that we do. If we have to move to a plan B, things are pretty well spelled out how we properly do that,” Atkins said.

There isn’t a set start date for the project, but it’s anticipated that work will begin after graduations at the Civic Arena in May. From there, Atkins said the hope is to have all painting completed, but at least the exterior painting done before the winter months.

Atkins said that it’s exciting that things are moving forward with projects at the site after years of uncertainty.

“There was uncertainty for a few years if we were going to refurbish the building or if we were going to tear down to build a new one. Finally, the council put their foot down and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to fix what we have,’” Atkins said. “We’ve got a good building, we’ve got a good shell. We’re going to fix what we have. And with their help, they’ve done a great job.”