West Grandstand Topping Out Ceremony

In a tradition that is equal to heritage of the Pendleton Round-Up, Structal -Heavy Steel Construction (Structal), a business unit of Canam Group Inc.

placed the final beam on the Pendleton Round-Up’s West Grand Stand construction project in beam signing ceremony held at the Round-Up grounds on February 16th.

The beam placement is the first schedule milestone for the West Grand Stand project that the Round-Up began planning around 1999. With funding capabilities more promising in 2007 the West Grand Stand renovation idea was revived. In 2009 the Pendleton Round-Up Association Board made the project a reality by approving funding for the project and by selecting Bob Balaski of RFB Project Management Services, LLC from Portland, OR as their Owner Representative, Sargent Architects of Hermiston, OR to prepare project plans, and W.C. Construction Inc of Elgin, OR as the Construction Manager/General Contractor for the project.

With the project now in full gear the Round-Up Association looks to having the West Grand Stand rodeo ready for the their Centennial year in September 2010. “We are extremely pleased with the progress to date on our much needed project and excited about the upcoming centennial event” said Association Board President Severe.

Construction activities began the instant the 2009 rodeo events were concluded. Structal was the successful bidder to W.C. Construction for the steel portion of the project. Fabrication of the steel members used on the project took place in Structal’s Sunnyside, WA facility. Bob Wiles of W.C. Construction said, “We have been very pleased with the performance of Structal, as well as with Technyx, another business unit of Canam Group Inc, who produced the structural steel shop drawings for the project.” “Everything has gone together nicely, on schedule, and with all aspects of our stringent safety policies adhered to precisely” according to Wiles. “Sunnyside’s close proximity to the job site allowed Structal to fabricate and ship the huge roof tube trusses in single pieces reducing the amount of installation time and field fabrication fit up work” he continued.

About Structal
Structal specializes in major and complex construction projects and also offers engineering support, design-build and project management services. Roger Roudebush, Vice President and General Manager of the Sunnyside plant, Jerry Bowden, Project Manager, Dan DeBoer, Regional Sales Manager and Larry Dykier, Senior Project Manager are putting the emphasis on the close cooperation between the Structal, Technyx and Canam teams to fabricate, deliver and erect this project to the great satisfaction of general contractor and customer W.C. Construction.

In addition, this project brings to 54 the number of North American stadiums, arenas and other sports facilities Structal has been associated with over the years including Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, Meadowlands Stadium, the Consol Energy Center for the Penguins of Pittsburgh, the Red Bull Arena and most recently, the new retractable roof of the Florida Marlins ballpark, and the replacement of the air-supported dome on the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

About W.C. Construction Inc.
W.C. Construction Inc, co-owned by Dennis Cross and Bob Wiles, is a locally owned and operated General Contractor who has been providing quality construction services for over 26 years. The company has completed more than 650 projects over the last 4 years and is currently licensed in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington with the majority of their project work taking place in Northeast Oregon & Southeast Washington.

“W.C. Construction has awarded several other contracts for work required to complete this project” noted Bob Wiles. Included are agreements with Baltzor Excavation, Gordon’s Electric & Heating, A Sharp Painter, and Thews Sheet Metal, all of Pendleton; Rock In Place from Pilot Rock, OR; Josh Bray Plumbing from Echo, OR; Rodan & Son Concrete Construction from Dixie, WA; Monarch Machine & Tool Company from Pasco, WA; Outdoor Aluminum from Geneva, AL; and Cobra Roofing Services from Spokane, WA. “We feel fortunate to have assembled such a strong team of subcontractors for this exciting project. Together with the performance of our project manager Jared Rogers, our senior project superintendent Chuck Baxley, and our onsite project superintendent Chris Loman, I couldn’t be more pleased with the safety, quality, schedule, and budget results achieved by these professionals to date on this project”  Wiles concluded.