Holland highlights

• Built Gateway Grizzlies stadium in Sauget
• Building stadium for the Southern Illinois Miners in Marion
• Constructed YMCA recreation centers in Belleville, Edwardsville and Columbia.

Originally posted on Mon, Feb. 05, 2007 from the Belleville News-Democrat by Scott Wuerz

Ballpark plan opens doors for developer

When Holland Construction of Swansea was asked to build the Gateway Grizzlies new stadium five years ago, it not only opened up a new chapter in the history of the Frontier League team, it opened up a whole new world for the builder, too.

Since then, the company has made the construction of athletic facilities a specialty. It has built YMCA recreation centers in Belleville, Edwardsville and Columbia; school-related athletic facilities including gyms, tracks, stadiums and baseball fields across the metro-east and is currently building a second Frontier League stadium for the new Southern Illinois Miners in Marion.

"We took an emphasis in this because we saw that there was going to be a continuing opportunity there," company owner Bruce Holland said of the decision to move into the sports construction business. "We started talking to owners and architects and found a lot of sports-related projects were on their planning boards."

Miners spokesman Mike Thiessen said Holland Construction was suggested when operators of the Miners were looking for someone to build their ballpark.

"They came highly recommended," Thiessen said. "We took a tour of the Grizzlies stadium to look at the work and the materials that were used. We were very impressed."

While they are in the same league, the Marion ballpark won't be a carbon copy of the one in Sauget.

"Our stadium is going to have a very distinctive roofline," Thiessen said. "A highlight of the design, from an architectural perspective, is that we can light it up different colors. It's translucent."

While the new Marion ballpark will have dedicated children's play areas and lots of concession stands and restrooms like the stadium in Sauget, there will be a different spin on many other facets of the building, according to Thiessen.

• The Marion stadium is larger than the one is Sauget with nearly 4,000 permanent seats compared to about 2,500 in Sauget. The contract to build the Grizzlies park was for $7 million while the Miners park will cost $19 million to complete.
• In Sauget, the suites are open, while in Marion they will be closed rooms with air conditioning.
• The Grizzlies play on a natural grass field that is for baseball use only. Because Miners stadium will be convertible into a football field, the playing surface will be larger and it will be covered with artificial turf to make sure it holds up to the extra use.
• The Marion ballpark will have a conference area and catering room that will have a view of the field.

Holland said his company's work in the sporting world won't stop when the Miners stadium is completed sometime before Frontier League opening day May 29.

His company has been chosen to build a new O'Fallon junior high school complete with multipurpose gyms and athletic fields. And there have been casual conversations about building a third Frontier League Park.

While Holland said his company treats every construction project like it is just as important as the previous one, he admitted that his employees get a kick out of building high-profile athletic facilities.

"We're fortunate enough to work on a diversity of different projects," Holland said. "But we really get into how these things are put together. They're really unique. But there is no trick in putting them together. You just have to be a really good listener."

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