Tulsa's ONEOK Field Construction On Track For Opening Day

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The company in charge of construction at ONEOK Field, Manhattan Construction, is confident the downtown Tulsa stadium will still be ready for opening day, despite recent rainy weather.

Project manager Bob Jack had a rare opportunity Sunday to tour the facility he is building while the sun was shining. Sunday was perfect baseball weather, but the recent run of rainy days has been less than ideal stadium-building weather.

Watch web cam of ONEOK Field construction. 

"I've been doing this a long time and I learned a long time ago not to get frustrated with the weather, but just come up with a strategic plan around it, and that's what we do," said Bob Jack, project manager.

That strategic plan means not a whole lot of time off from now until opening day in April. Jack fully expects ONEOK Field will be ready for that first pitch. 

"We did get hit with weather days, but our crews are working seven days a week, and we've got some fine subcontractors on the site and they'll make up for that, and we don't see that as a problem," said Jack.

One advantage to recent rainy weather is it has given officials a chance to test the drainage system beneath the sod, which was put in about three weeks ago. So far, they say it's gone perfectly.

"The drainage system on the field works really well. And also, we've got a lot of moisture for our grass, which is coming along extremely well," said Jack.

9/28/2009  Related Story: Infield At ONEOK Field Turning Green

Still, Jack is hoping for more sunny days as construction heads into the home stretch.