Florida State football facility construction hits new snag; Childers leaves project
Construction of Florida State’s long-anticipated standalone football facility has run into another hurdle, although the university and Seminole Boosters Inc., say their intention is to move forward with the project, “on schedule and within budget.”
Florida State officials have been discussing various plans for the football operations center since back in early 2017, and several designs have been considered through the years. It has gone through the hands of three head football coaches — Jimbo Fisher, Willie Taggart and Mike Norvell — as well as multiple athletics directors and booster club presidents.
Ground was broken on the project one year ago, and infrastructure work has been under way for months.
With the Seminoles’ 2023 season coming to an end, massive construction was expected to take place soon with a completion date of the summer of 2025. But now, Florida State has parted ways with Childers Construction, the firm that was selected to handle the project.
“The Seminole Boosters and Childers Construction Company have entered into a mutual termination and resolution agreement of contractual obligations related to the FSU Football Operations Facility,” according to a statement provided by Florida State on Thursday, upon request from Warchant. “Seminole Boosters is taking necessary steps to advance the project forward on schedule and within budget. The process has already started to select a new construction manager to complete the project, and we anticipate an announcement by the end of the month.”
The facility, which is expected to be around 150,000 square feet when completed, is believed to cost about $138 million. Earlier this year, the Florida State Board of Trustees approved a plan that would call for more than $100 million to be financed for the project.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Florida State and Childers could not come to an agreement on a guaranteed maximum price for the facility’s construction.
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