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MIAMI -- Circle Aug. 3 as another significant date in the timeline of the Marlins' new ballpark.
On that Monday, the grounds will be getting ready for the pouring of concrete.
"Somewhere around Monday, Aug. 3, you will start seeing different types of machines on the site," Marlins president David Samson said. "You will see new workers working, because the site demolition crew, their work is just about done. Then, we'll move onto the foundation package.
"The foundation package means the beginning of the pouring of concrete, and the beginning of, believe it or not, you'll be starting to see some of the roof columns put up."
Construction officially got under way on July 1, and the ceremonial groundbreaking was on July 18. Over the past few weeks workers have been grading the Orange Bowl grounds, preparing it for the setting of the foundation.
Thus far, everything remains on schedule for the 37,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark in the Little Havana section of Miami.
"You won't see a fully built roof going up when you go to bed on Aug. 3, but what you will see is the beginning of that process," Samson said. "From that day, you'll start seeing structures coming out of the ground, which will actually be roof columns.
"To most people, construction is usually associated with cranes. But, the truth is, before cranes can come, there are a ton of things that go into construction. So when you look at the webcam these days, and you think it's simply people moving dirt around, what they're really doing is putting dirt exactly where they need it to be so when they start pouring concrete, they know exactly where to do it, and what the ground will look like when they do it."
Every stage of development can be seen via the "Marlins New Ballpark" webcam on www.marlins.com.
The construction timeline is prepared by the builders, Hunt/Moss. Each week, the Marlins have construction meetings, where they cover every minor to major detail on the new ballpark.
"Every week, we get a three-week look ahead on construction," Samson said. "What Hunt/Moss does is prepare a three-week timeline, which enables us to make sure, on a very micro basis, that things are happening. So when you look back at 33 months, you'll see the macro timeline that ends with a building."
It's hurricane season for the state of Florida, and the new ballpark will be built to code, making sure it can weather heavy storms.
All the glass in the building will be hurricane-proof, and the building will not have shutters.
"There is an entire hurricane plan in place for construction workers, so any time there is a hurricane watch or hurricane warning, there are different steps to ensure the safety of all the workers, and everyone around the site," Samson said.
"We don't want flying cranes, or flying tarps or flying machines. A specific plan is in place, in conjunction with the county and the city, to ensure the safety in terms of a storm."
The team also has put together a comprehensive community outreach program to inform the surrounding neighborhoods of construction schedules. There will be road closures during the course of the building process.
"We want to make sure that we have a very good relationship with our neighbors because we are moving in, and we want to be in position where in three years, they understand we're good neighbors and they want to support our team, both on and off the field," Samson said.
The team is exploring web sites and phone lines to help inform residents and travelers of areas that will be affected.
"It's very much like a highway construction. One exit is closed, and then it reopens and then another exit is closed," Samson said. "It's not the same people who are inconvenienced every single day, but during the course of construction, it's complicated. It's a big project.
"Our goal with the outreach program is to make sure everybody is aware of everything that is happening, before it's happening. That's the key."
On that Monday, the grounds will be getting ready for the pouring of concrete.
"Somewhere around Monday, Aug. 3, you will start seeing different types of machines on the site," Marlins president David Samson said. "You will see new workers working, because the site demolition crew, their work is just about done. Then, we'll move onto the foundation package.
"The foundation package means the beginning of the pouring of concrete, and the beginning of, believe it or not, you'll be starting to see some of the roof columns put up."
Construction officially got under way on July 1, and the ceremonial groundbreaking was on July 18. Over the past few weeks workers have been grading the Orange Bowl grounds, preparing it for the setting of the foundation.
Thus far, everything remains on schedule for the 37,000-seat, retractable-roof ballpark in the Little Havana section of Miami.
"You won't see a fully built roof going up when you go to bed on Aug. 3, but what you will see is the beginning of that process," Samson said. "From that day, you'll start seeing structures coming out of the ground, which will actually be roof columns.
"To most people, construction is usually associated with cranes. But, the truth is, before cranes can come, there are a ton of things that go into construction. So when you look at the webcam these days, and you think it's simply people moving dirt around, what they're really doing is putting dirt exactly where they need it to be so when they start pouring concrete, they know exactly where to do it, and what the ground will look like when they do it."
Every stage of development can be seen via the "Marlins New Ballpark" webcam on www.marlins.com.
The construction timeline is prepared by the builders, Hunt/Moss. Each week, the Marlins have construction meetings, where they cover every minor to major detail on the new ballpark.
"Every week, we get a three-week look ahead on construction," Samson said. "What Hunt/Moss does is prepare a three-week timeline, which enables us to make sure, on a very micro basis, that things are happening. So when you look back at 33 months, you'll see the macro timeline that ends with a building."
It's hurricane season for the state of Florida, and the new ballpark will be built to code, making sure it can weather heavy storms.
All the glass in the building will be hurricane-proof, and the building will not have shutters.
"There is an entire hurricane plan in place for construction workers, so any time there is a hurricane watch or hurricane warning, there are different steps to ensure the safety of all the workers, and everyone around the site," Samson said.
"We don't want flying cranes, or flying tarps or flying machines. A specific plan is in place, in conjunction with the county and the city, to ensure the safety in terms of a storm."
The team also has put together a comprehensive community outreach program to inform the surrounding neighborhoods of construction schedules. There will be road closures during the course of the building process.
"We want to make sure that we have a very good relationship with our neighbors because we are moving in, and we want to be in position where in three years, they understand we're good neighbors and they want to support our team, both on and off the field," Samson said.
The team is exploring web sites and phone lines to help inform residents and travelers of areas that will be affected.
"It's very much like a highway construction. One exit is closed, and then it reopens and then another exit is closed," Samson said. "It's not the same people who are inconvenienced every single day, but during the course of construction, it's complicated. It's a big project.
"Our goal with the outreach program is to make sure everybody is aware of everything that is happening, before it's happening. That's the key."