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The project sounded like a basic stadium remodel: upgrade and modify PGE Park in Portland from suiting baseball to professional soccer.

For general contractor Turner Construction, a firm with multiple stadium construction projects under its belt and several more under way across the country, it seemed like just another project.

Then came the spoiler.

鈥淲e had at least nine months of work to do and only six months to do it,鈥� said Dan Kavanaugh, vice president and general manager of聽 Turner Construction鈥檚 Portland operations,聽鈥渁nd we had to tiptoe around a major drainage system that runs directly under the field.鈥�

The system referenced by Kavanaugh was a century-old system that ran diagonally under the field just six feet beneath the turf.

鈥淲e decided the best thing to do was not to disturb it, so we set about construction in two phases,鈥� Kavanaugh said.

The project team began by putting in new footings and preparing for quick demolition of facility portions that had to come down.聽Then the season for the Beavers, the minor league baseball team using the stadium at the time, started and the renovation project took a time-out.

鈥淣ear the end of (the Beavers鈥�) season, we were in place and literally started working as they were picking up the bases from the field,鈥� Kavanaugh said.

From that point, the clock was ticking.聽It was a classic 鈥渇ailure is not an option鈥� situation because the Major League Soccer season for the newly formed Portland Timbers club was slated to start a scant six months after the Beavers鈥� final game.

鈥淭here were no minced words about timing,鈥� Kavanaugh said.聽鈥淲e believed we could do it and made a commitment, then performed to ensure we met our obligation.鈥�

The project stayed within the $31 million budget and the facility opened with a new name, Jeld-Wen Field, in time for the Timbers鈥� opening game.

The seating capacity was increased to nearly 20,000.聽A cantilevered, 120-foot roof shelters fans from sun and rain while stadium box seats add luxury. A 12,000-square-foot rehabilitation facility for Providence Health & Services called Providence Sports Care Center was incorporated into the renovation.聽The center provides sports-oriented medical care for professionals and amateur athletes and has a broad, open, glassed-in view of the field 鈥� an innovative addition.

Kavanaugh stressed that the project couldn鈥檛 have happened without strong communication and coordination among all of the companies that worked on the project.

鈥淵ou gotta love this industry to hang in there with a project like this and make it work,鈥澛爃e said.