Mapp Announces Expansion Of Paul E. Joseph Stadium Project, Cost Swells To $35 Million

ST. CROIX — Speaking to a capacity crowd of business owners during the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting at the Palms at Pelican Cove this morning, Governor Kenneth Mapp said that the Paul E. Joseph Stadium development project has been expanded in scope, a decision that will cost the government $15 million more than the $20 million that was first agreed upon. The expansion has also considerably pushed back the facility’s completion date from late 2016 to June, 2018, according to the governor, who revealed the latest timeline to The Consortium following his keynote.

But the changes, according to Mr. Mapp, will reflect a facility capable of not only housing sporting events, but also major entertainment activities. According to the governor, the government is currently in talks to purchase property surrounding the stadium to facilitate the expansion.

The announcement is part of the governor’s vision to revitalize the town of Frederiskted, with enhancements to be done beginning at the entrance, all the way to the stadium.

The facility itself won’t house the Carnival Village, Mr. Mapp revealed. But it will be a three-story complex with all the features of a stadium — including a media floor, he said. Using charts, the governor detailed the inside and outside of the space (seen here), and its entrance as well.

Mr. Mapp, however, did not elaborate on much else in relation to the stadium, or where the extra $15 million would come from. He did confirm, though, that the added work will be performed by GEC, LLC, the firm originally contracted for construction.

In October, the governor announced that he had approved the recommencing of work at the stadium, after he suspended the project in February of the same year in an effort to renegotiate the deal.

“This is the beginning of a vision for the revitalization of Frederiksted that was developed through the design charrette process in 2005 while I was PFA director of Finance and Administration,” he said last year. “I want to thank the administration’s team of attorneys along with Commissioners Gustav James, Pedro Cruz and Randolph Bennett and the PFA’s consultant, Coastal Systems–USVI, for working with the representatives of GEC, LLC to get this significant project back on track.”

The suspension was followed by a vetting process, which resulted in a mutually agreed upon change order and the notice to proceed executed by Department of Public Works Commissioner Mr. James, Department of Sports, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mr. Cruz, and Department of Property & Procurement Commissioner Mr. Bennett.

Mr. Mapp halted the project in February contending that the contract was hastily put together and that the company had not a single design concept to show. 

“What is so troubling about that project is that the government has entered into a contract for a $20 million project for which there is not a single concept or design,” the governor said. “The contract allows the vendor to design a stadium and surrounding areas, bill the government at the cost of 10 percent, put it together, and they give us a $10 million project, the contract says the contractor and the government will split the savings, so the contractor will end up with a $5 million bonus. We could have a stadium worth $10 million, and you, the people of the Virgin Islands, would be out $20 million.”

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of the governor’s plan to build a four-star hotel here.

Feature Image: Kenneth Mapp detailing the expansion of the Paul E. Joseph Stadium using charts at the Palms at Pelican Cove.

Image Credit: VIC.