Mobile’s new Civic Center arena: $237 million price tag, unofficially

Mobile city officials celebrated Friday after bids for a new Civic Center arena came in slightly under their target.

“It’s come in a little under budget, and that’s very gratifying,” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said after the bid opening. “It’s a good way to end a Friday afternoon, and it’s a good way to start Mardi Gras: to tell all of our revelers that yes, we’re going to build an arena.”

Last year, Stimpson announced the city’s plan to demolish the existing civic center and replace it with a brand-new arena. The new, modern arena is meant to be able to accommodate sporting events, Mardi Gras balls, and concerts.

On Friday, the city received bids from three construction companies to build the new arena. The presumed low bid came from B.L. Harbert International, a company based in Birmingham.

B.L. Harbert’s base bid came in at $240 million. Adding in alternates (optional extras not necessary for construction) and subtracting the offered deductions, the company’s bid came in around $237 million.

That’s below the basis of $255 million, or the target budget that the city set for construction of the arena.

But Stimpson cautioned that the final number and contract aren’t official yet: Between today and Tuesday, when the Mobile City Council will review the contract for the first time, the city and B.L. Harbert will have to finalize details.

Hoar Construction, based in Birmingham, and Jesco, Inc., of Mobile, also submitted bids for the project.

The total cost of the project—including demolition—is not supposed to exceed $300 million.

Up to 56% of the cost to construct the new arena could be borrowed, the first major financing project the city has undertaken since Stimpson took office.

Stimpson said Friday that, even though the construction costs are slightly under what the city budgeted, the city is likely to still borrow the same amount, so as not to draw down more of the city’s funds than necessary.

“We want to conserve as much cash as the city has, just because, just out of prudence,” Stimpson said. “If you borrow another $5 million on the bond issue, that’s not that big of a deal due to the size of the bond issue. $5 million cash may come in handy somewhere over the next number of years.”

Because the bids are on target, the city can move forward with its ambitious timeline for building the new arena: Stimpson said the city expects to go to the bond market on March 5.

Construction could be authorized on March 12, just eight days after this year’s Mardi Gras celebrations come to a close, he said.

The timeline is meant to keep costs low, Stimpson previously said, as well as to minimize the disruption to Mardi Gras. The mayor has pledged that the civic center construction will only disrupt celebrations for two years.

The new civic center arena is slated to open in 2027, in time for that year’s Carnival celebration.

In the meantime, demolition on the old civic center began last fall and is proceeding on schedule. The demolition is anticipated to cost around $5.7 million, including costs for preserving the murals that previously hung in the arena lobby.

In January, record-breaking snowfall caused the dome roof of the old civic center to collapse. However, the collapse did not hinder ongoing demolition, which is expected to be completed in March.

Next week, the city council will consider the contract for construction of the arena during their meeting. The council is expected to approve the contract during their meeting on Feb. 25.

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