Stadium Construction Halted

[SoonerBBall]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/ou-stadium-construction-to-halt-when-steel-manufacturer-posts-bond/article_8ff6bc06-245c-5db1-a369-88ffa2637d4f.html

How ridiculous is this? It is sad that state law seems to be at play here.

[KantoSooner]

Don't understand your comment. Oklahoma law would pretty clearly be the governing authority over a contract made in Oklahoma. Why wouldn't it be in the absence of some other choice of law in the contract?
If you have an announced bidding process, then you better follow it. In private business, I typically suggest that a company simply solicit bids without explaining the process under which the bids will be evaluated. But you generally can't get away with that if you're a government entity like OU.
Since a judge has reviewed the basic facts and issued an injunction, it seems at least possible that OU screwed up and didn't follow their own procedure. It wouldn't be the first time the University stepped on their own *****.

[badger]

I like that they chose an Oklahoma-based company over a Kansas-based one. Why couldn't there be a stipulation that OU's preference is to keep money and jobs in-state?

Hell, if this wasn't going to halt construction, than the nosediving oil prices would have eventually :(

[rock on sooner]

I like that they chose an Oklahoma-based company over a Kansas-based one. Why couldn't there be a stipulation that OU's preference is to keep money and jobs in-state?

Hell, if this wasn't going to halt construction, than the nosediving oil prices would have eventually :(

I thought I read somewhere that the OU project had been halted due to
the oil price free fall....the headline was "Sooner stadium $376 million upgrade
halted because of falling oil prices" or something like that.....

[KantoSooner]

A lot of people speculated that the oil drop would kill it, but I also recall hearing that at least the vast majority was already funded. and any borrowing would be at lower rates, one would think.

[badger]

It wasn't halted but rather, scaled back. I think they had much grander plans originally than what they had started doing... and now have stopped doing over some stupid steel dispute.

[SoonerBBall]

Don't understand your comment. Oklahoma law would pretty clearly be the governing authority over a contract made in Oklahoma. Why wouldn't it be in the absence of some other choice of law in the contract?
If you have an announced bidding process, then you better follow it. In private business, I typically suggest that a company simply solicit bids without explaining the process under which the bids will be evaluated. But you generally can't get away with that if you're a government entity like OU.
Since a judge has reviewed the basic facts and issued an injunction, it seems at least possible that OU screwed up and didn't follow their own procedure. It wouldn't be the first time the University stepped on their own *****.

To be specific, it is sad when the law states that the lowest bid must be accepted for public works. It puts you in a situation like this one where the lowest bidder has never participated in stadium construction while the second lowest bidder has quite a bit of experience in it, but you must accept the inferior work.

I'm not saying that the University didn't violate the process, just that the process itself is silly and flawed.

[tycat947]

It wasn't halted but rather, scaled back. I think they had much grander plans originally than what they had started doing... and now have stopped doing over some stupid steel dispute.

Actually, they are going to do in phases instead of all at once as initially planned. They keep reporting as "scaled back" but I believe it will all be completed but just not in a couple of years as originally planned.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25101566/oklahoma-announces-stadium-renovation-to-be-scaled-back

[Turd_Ferguson]

Flintco has been doing upgrades/repairs to the stadium for years. Not sure why they'd wanna bring in some dick heads from KS that would have to go through the learning curve. Damn kansans.

[KantoSooner]

Okay, Sooner, I get your point. And largely agree. Probably same impulse that gave us mandatory minimums.

[SoonerBBall]

Okay, Sooner, I get your point. And largely agree. Probably same impulse that gave us mandatory minimums.

Exactly. And both sets of laws have done so much good, right?

[KantoSooner]

Exactly.
It is no coincidence that efficiency and speed pick up dramatically when people are freed to do their jobs. It is ironic that it's largely the anti-government crowd who've espoused simplistic rules that override common sense.

[BB37]

To be specific, it is sad when the law states that the lowest bid must be accepted for public works. It puts you in a situation like this one where the lowest bidder has never participated in stadium construction while the second lowest bidder has quite a bit of experience in it, but you must accept the inferior work.

I'm not saying that the University didn't violate the process, just that the process itself is silly and flawed.

I haven't seen the RFQ, but unless the RFQ stated that prior stadium construction experience was required, then they can't retroactively make it a requirement during the bid evaluation.

[BB37]

I like that they chose an Oklahoma-based company over a Kansas-based one. Why couldn't there be a stipulation that OU's preference is to keep money and jobs in-state?:(

Perhaps state purchasing laws don't make an exception for in-state bidders.

[Phil]

The lawyer for the company that got the injunction is a former OU linebacker that played for Switzer.

[herecomedajudge]

Oklahoma Supreme Court has stayed the effect of the temporary injunction.

http://m.newsok.com/oklahoma-supreme-court-issues-stay-in-stadium-construction-halt/article/5457747

[Pride1Mom]

Another T Boone Pickens ploy......

[BetterSoonerThanLater]

Just because a complany responds to an RFP with the lowest bid, doesn't mean they are automatically given the contract. The person requesting the proposal has the say on who they choose. I send out RFP's all the time. sometimes I go with the lowest number, sometimes I don't. there is alot more that goes into the choice than just the dollar amount.