Mpls.-based Ryan Cos. to Design, Build Saints Stadium

Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US, Inc., will design and construct the new, $54 million St. Paul Saints stadium in the city’s Lowertown neighborhood.
 
The company recently announced that the City of St. Paul and the St. Paul Saints minor league baseball team have selected it to serve as the general contractor and the lead designer for the project. Ryan will collaborate with the Minneapolis and Kansas City offices of Los Angeles-based architectural firm AECOM and Minneapolis-based Julie Snow Architects in designing the stadium.
 
Ryan’s announcement came shortly after Governor Mark Dayton approved $25 million in state funds for the building of the new stadium. While the ballpark project received $2 million short of what the City of St. Paul requested, its share is the largest portion of $47.5 million in state money that’s being given out as part of a $496 million bonding bill that Dayton signed in June.
 
Ninety projects from across the state applied for a portion of the money, which was earmarked for unspecified economic development projects. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) last week released a list of 37 finalists and assigned a numerical score to each. The rankings essentially served as a recommendation to Dayton, who ultimately chose nine projects to receive a portion of the money. The Saints ballpark received 77 out of 100 possible points—the highest score among the 12 Twin Cities-area projects ranked.
 
The new ballpark will be located at Fifth Street and Broadway Street and will replace the vacant Diamond Products/Gillette building that’s now at the site, which the St. Paul Port Authority bought. The city coordinated a “land swap” deal, through which it provided the site of the Saints’ Midway Stadium in exchange for that property. The stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2015 baseball season.
 
The new open-air, grass ballpark will have 7,000 fixed seats, six to eight suites, a public plaza, a restaurant, and permanent art exhibits featuring local artists’ work. In addition to Saints games, the stadium will be used for community athletic events, college and high school football and baseball games, and rentals.
 
“We are very excited to design and build the next great addition to the city of St. Paul,” Mike Ryan, director of architecture and engineering for Ryan, said in a statement. “Ryan is committed to its history of improving Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro.”
 
Ryan Companies is a family-owned developer, designer, capital investment consultant, builder, and real estate manager specializing in retail, distribution, mission critical, public sector, and health care projects. The company is among the top 10 commercial developers in Minnesota based on square feet developed within the state.