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Tully Grandstand, a Difference Way to Deliver
TULLY GRANDSTAND – A DIFFERENT WAY TO DELIVER
Available in ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Justin Fischer Cassowary Coast Regional Council
The Complex and Grandstand has created a new precinct focused around the existing Tully Showground that provides a cultural and recreation facility for a range of tourism and events use. A focus on place-making has underpinned the planning for the Tully Multi-Use Sporting Complex and Grandstand offering opportunities to grow existing and attract new events and tourism offerings and associated economic benefits for the region. The project has increased the town’s capacity for increased sport and recreation participation and to develop its activities in a safe and appropriately supported environment in addition to promoting the benefits of sport and a healthy recreational lifestyle for the surrounding Tully sporting sector, general public and touring organisations. While the facility is designed with National Rugby League (NRL) requirements specifically in mind, the new community sports facility is able to be used by a range of sporting and cultural organisations for multiple different events. The design of the facility has taken the following considerations into account: • Flexibility to adapt to varied purposes to reflect the needs of the local community; • Ecologically sustainable through optimizing the use of natural light and ventilation; • Disaster resilient design for cycles and flooding; • Low maintenance, easy to operate with equitable access; • Incorporates emergency provisions and can be used as a disaster management centre to coordinate recovery efforts from events; • The demand for private meeting and function venues in Tully
Background
The Tully Multi-Use Sporting Complex and Grandstand project was initiated due to substantial deterioration of the existing 90-year-old Percy Pease Grandstand located in the Tully Showgrounds, causing it to be closed in August 2017 and demolished in January 2018.
The old structure was built in the 1930s and had significant limitations so a simple like for like replacement was not a consideration. Limitations included regular inundation of the kitchen and canteen facility, safety issues associated with change rooms across the access road, very poor disability access, obscured sightlines for spectators from structural elements, seating a long way from the field, inability to host male and female events requiring change rooms at the same time, small seating capacity, any temporary shade erected for reserves and sideline officials obscured the view of those in the grandstand and no facilities for game officials.
Multiple workshops allowed engagement with 19 user groups (including four key user groups)
of the existing building. A site visit to Windsor Wolves Junior Rugby League grandstand in Sydney allowed the project team and key stakeholders to connect with the architect and learn from their experience.
The Tully Multi-Use Sporting Complex and Grandstand project consisted of the construction and fit out of a new 600-seat multiuse grandstand with associated facilities for the Tully community. Outcomes were front of mind throughout the project and focused on delivering a facility that prioritised function over form.
Key requirements included: • Meeting the minimum requirements for an NRL
Regional Facility • Meeting the requirements of the Queensland Governments
Female Facilities Program • An emphasis on quality of spectator sightlines to arena and playing field • Easy to maintain and operate • Prioritising club volunteers • Emphasis on flexibility and sharing of the facility • Cater for disability access and usage (inclusion of a lift)
The project delivered with: • Double the number of changerooms required, with the flexibility to operate as four or two change rooms • Meets the requirements for female facilities with all facilities in changerooms being unisex design • The new facility is approximately 30m closer to the playing field with views of the field in all seats as good as any rugby league stadium • The facility is designed to be able to be able to be hosed out for 95% of the floor area • The canteen and bar have almost the best views in the building and volunteer numbers have increased • User groups are continuing to engage with each other and work together in sharing
the facility, the relationship between the football groups and the Show Society has improved to the point that further compromises have been agreed to enable upgrading of a second field • Significant increase in patronage by the community, particularly the elderly who have appreciated the safe and dry access to seating, toilets, food and drink all under the one roof • Overwhelming support from the community for the facility
Stakeholder Engagement
In developing the design for the proposed Tully MultiUse Sporting Complex and Grandstand, Council consulted with and obtained approval from the Tully showgrounds user groups over 18 months. These organisations included the Tully Tigers Rugby League Club, Tully Netball Association, Tully Tennis Association, Tully Kennel Club, Tully Rotary Club, Tully Touch Football, Tully Lions Club, Tully Show Society, Tully Gym Club, Tully Girl Guides, The Australian Stock Horse Association, Tully Junior Rugby League as well as the wider Tully and Cassowary Coast community.
In addition to this, Council sought the general public’s views on the project at the 2018 Tully Show and through Council’s Facebook page. There was overwhelming support for the project with many residents providing positive comments regarding the design and potential benefits to the Cassowary Coast community.
It was essential that we considered the needs of user groups and volunteers as the sustainability of the facility is based around its ongoing use.
Stakeholder engagement was led by Council’s Planning team and consisted of a number of interactive sessions involving computer generated images to show stakeholders what we were doing and what the end result would look like. Local Member for Parliament Shane Knuth attended many stakeholder meetings, and user groups joined with Council to produce a video submitted to the Minister to support a request for additional funding. This process encouraged ownership and accountability by user groups and stakeholders and resulted in particular stakeholders – the President of the Tully Show Society and the President of the Tully Tigers Leagues Club - not just supporting but also promoting the project.
Benefits of stakeholder engagement included: • Active stakeholder involvement • Informed stakeholders led to valuable and useful feedback • Ownership of the facility • Enabled greater understanding of the project and outcomes
Innovation
Innovation was realised through a project that was thought about differently from the outset. The attachment contains extracts from the procurement document for consultancy services.
Benefits of having an engineerled process included project documentation that was clear and unambiguous and did not require any interpretation or dispute between architectural and engineering drawing sets; software utilised in the design that was able to reduce the time required by the Quantity Surveyor analysing documentation; better definition of what was expected up front, and guided decisionmaking throughout the project that enabled the project team to comfortably make decisions, reducing uncertainty and bottlenecks.
The design process focused on delivering a simple to construct building, creating opportunity for less technically capable builders and less reliance on specialised subcontractors. An example of this was an easier to build foundation with mass footings rather than piled foundations.
The project team spent time reviewing the design with Quantity Surveyors at the Concept Design review to understand what was driving costs up. Line by line we asked: “What did you assume to come up with that rate?” and “What could we specify that would reduce your estimate?”.
Council then further engaged a suitably qualified builder in the region to provide a similar cost estimate, costs were compared and when material differences were identified further clarification to understand assumptions were sought. Significant cost saving were achieved through this process, particularly in identifying the cost differences in alternative fitout standards.
This approach was driven by lessons learned by a similarscale project, the Mission Beach Aquatic Facility, where a significant proportion of the costs were driven by building fitout details that ultimately have very little to do with the user experience of using the pool facilities.
Tender document and contract
The tender document provided for and encouraged innovation. The following is an extract.
Council invites Tenderers to offer opportunities or innovative solutions which result in a beneficial reduction of cost, risk or schedule or an improvement to the quality of the structure or the end use of the structure. The scope of changes is not limited. Alternative or innovative solutions will be assessed against the project objectives, within the evaluation of tenders received … Given time was of the essence on this project, an often-overlooked part of the General Conditions of Contract AS4000 is early completion bonus. In this contract we offered a $1051/day bonus. We know that this bonus enabled the successful tenderer to attract very experienced staff to the project with the incentive to share in this bonus if it was achieved.
Further innovation was demonstrated in the contract by requiring the contractor to plan to deliver the project in the wettest part of Australia, the clause for a delay where EOTs would not be granted was Inclement weather lesser than the adverse 70th percentile frequency, duration or amount of single or cumulative events based on substantial Bureau of Meteorology data (such as BOM station 32042 with records from 1927 to 2018).
Technology
Another technological innovation included a fingerprint scan security system. This multipurpose system allows greater control over access to the facility, allowing certain areas to be locked down or opened as required. When a football game is being held, the ground floor toilets are able to be locked from the outside so they can be accessed only by players using change rooms. In ‘show mode’ when the Tully Show is held they can be locked from the inside to allow members of the public to access them from the outside.
Project Management
The Project Management Plan was designed in a way that said less however was more powerful. The key points and outcomes were always at front of mind in all decision-making stages of the project and time and effort were spent to identify key principles and objectives in a way that anyone could understand them, regardless of whether they were an Engineer, designer or stakeholder. This ensure the document appealed to a wider audience and could be understood by all.
Information was kept similar to that of the tender document to ensure it was clear to the builder and was always clarified when engaging with anyone on the project to ensure understanding. Very minimal response from 10 tenderers suggested the scope was well defined.
Financial planning and control was managed through close consultation with the superintendent, builders and Quantity Surveyors experienced in Government funded projects. This allowed a comparison of estimates and further questioning around interpretation of design, risk and costs within the project and whether we could impact the design to drive better value.
This led to a greater understanding of the process, estimates and a review of assumptions, resulting in a reduction to the estimated project cost by around $1.2 million. As an example, generally Government funded projects
include items such as Italian tiles, rendered surfaces and a variety of paint colours and/or flooring materials used. In order to optimise use of funds, heavy principle involvement ensured materials and finishes were appropriate and easy to maintain.
To ensure the project was able to be delivered on time, strategies such as an early completion bonus and liquidated damages were incorporated into the contract. Tenderers were encouraged to allow for expected rainfall, with data obtained to anticipate possible delays and ensure the contract accommodated this.
A proactive approach to risk management meant we did not take our foot off the accelerator even during the impacts of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of availability and supply of materials. We engaged early with the builder to limit the risk of COVID-19.
Rather than shying away from risk, we used this as an opportunity to work with the builder and suppliers to identify possible risks and make adjustments to payment mechanisms in order to facilitate supply of materials, including early payment options. Our Site Management Plans were proactive in supporting the builder throughout this process.
Key Learnings
Some of the learnings experienced throughout the project include: • The importance of early stakeholder engagement to obtain buy-in and ownership • Put money into the things people notice • Be proactive and involved throughout the process • Research systems and equipment to ensure suitability.
The fire system installed at the Grandstand is impacted by bugs and insects. This issue would have been discovered through appropriate research, and an alternative fire system purchased. • When asking engaging with stakeholders over designs and plans make sure they understand that this is their opportunity for input. This can reduce the need for revising plans later in the project. • Push for value for money in all design and construction
Acknowledgements
David Goodman, Cassowary Coast Regional Council Blake Haslam, SMEC David Geenen, Studio Djgeenen
ART EXHIBITION
When IPWEAQ and qldwater outgrew their office space in Albion, IPWEAQ CEO, Leigh Cunningham embarked on a mission to create a professional space where visitors and staff would feel comfortable and at home.
The environment reflects IPWEAQ’s purpose – to support and strengthen communities by investing in Indigenous Australian art and handmade flowers. Leigh chose each individual piece, sourced from two galleries in Western Australia and Northern Territory.
Attendees joined us in late November to tour the premises and admire the 45 pieces of artwork. The artwork, displayed throughout the entire building purchased from two galleries: Mbantua in Alice Springs and Artlandish Aboriginal Art in Kununurra.
Topped off with canapes, drinks and good company, it was a lovely evening, and a perfect way to wrap up 2021.
Thank you to the 60+ people who attended the IPWEAQ Art Exhibition, especially considering the downpour on the day!
