Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat® Machines

Female-led construction team paves way for the first female-owned franchise’s stadium.


By Edgar Sandoval, Contributor | Posted: April 17, 2023 


As the 2023 Major League Soccer season kicks off, the city of St. Louis is not only celebrating the official arrival of their new team, they’re seeing a brand-new stadium opening; one that will link the city like never before. It is the last piece of the puzzle connecting the Gateway Arch to Forest Park (the site of the 1904 World’s Fair). CityPark is going to have an impact on the community and Caterpillar is proud to have played a part. Fabick Cat was heavily involved in supporting the MAK joint venture which built the stadium and supporting complex.

 

Coming Together to Take on the Challenge

“It was a challenge at times to stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of that jobsite and with less than typical inventory situations, we had to get creative. And we devoted mechanics to that site to keep the job rolling. We had them in early, had them there late. It was quite the undertaking.”

Stewart England

Territory Manager

Fabick Cat


The MAK joint venture consisted of Minneapolis-based Mortenson and St. Louis-based Alberici Corporation and L. Keely Construction. Construction of the stadium for the first female-owned MLS franchise was also led by a primarily female leadership team, with Ellen Spangler of Mortenson serving as the senior project manager. Mortenson brought sports expertise to the table with Alberici and Keeley both contributing local relationships as well as strong expertise in deep utilities, earthwork, civil (Keely) as well as concrete, structural seal, and precast (Alberici). 

 

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines
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Our customers made sure the pitch was perfect.

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines

Bringing New Life

The 22,500-seat stadium will be the centerpiece of the Downtown West area; more than 30 acres that will include offices and the team’s training facility. The city expects hundreds of thousands of fans to spend millions of dollars at home games, but the stadium’s impact will go well beyond the pitch. Significant redevelopment, spurred by the stadium, is underway. This includes hundreds of apartment units, new restaurants, and retail, bringing new life to an area ripe for revitalization. MAK is thrilled to see the fruits of its labor.

“I travel around the country building sports facilities for a living,” said Spangler. “Downtown West has struggled and this project has definitely started the reinvigoration of that area. And to see the excitement in the city surrounding a new team coming to St. Louis was really cool. I think I get more excited to see the community get excited than to see the actual team play. To see the fan base emerge here, out of nowhere has been the best part.”

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines
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A solid foundation for soccer in St. Louis.

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines

Connecting the City With CityPark

This project is the keystone to locking together the city and one of the key features of the stadium is the loading dock. The MAK joint venture rebuilt the Market Street Bridge on grade to put a tunnel underneath for subterranean loading dock access, because the facility was designed to be welcoming to all. No matter what part of the city you come from, each side features a front entrance.

St. Louis is such a parochial and diverse city that if you look in all four directions, there are four very distinct areas of the community that would come together here,” said Curt Peitzman, Executive Vice President at Keely. “We wanted to have them each enter through a ‘front door.’ It’s a subtle, but very important part of what we did here. Very few stadiums around the country offer four front doors to every corner of their city.”

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines
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The Cat Rental Store has got you covered, no matter what size the project.

MAK Joint Venture Builds CityPark MLS Stadium with Cat Machines

Unmatched Dealer Support

Cat machines and support equipment from The Cat Rental Store were featured prominently on this project. From 400-class excavators and down and no less than 50 to 60 track hoes to articulated trucks carrying rock from the north to the south side to water trucks. And through Keely, MAK had an exclusive agreement for skid steers through Cat.

“We literally had the whole house of Fabick Cat on that job site,” England said. “The rental services team had lifts, booms and smaller equipment out there. Mini excavators for even just a month. We had attachments they’d need for two or three weeks and then bring them back. They’d say ‘hey we need a big machine with a breaker because there was a huge rock in the way.’ But we were always able to scrounge things together.“

Rent What You Need from The Cat Rental Store

The Cat Rental Store has whatever you need for any sized job – large, like a soccer stadium or whatever project you’re about to kick off. 

 

Learn More

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Edgar Sandoval
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Edgar Sandoval


Edgar Sandoval

Contributor

When he’s not creating content to highlight our sponsorship partners, Edgar Sandoval is coaching soccer or telling jokes at comedy clubs around the country. He started here after spending time in Hollywood and working for four network television affiliates. Edgar loves telling stories about the people, products and services that make Caterpillar great!

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