Dreams realized as Pit readies to open

Audio specialist Eric Devore walked onto the Pit court Thursday and contemplated the last three months that he worked renovating the arena.
“I used to come to Lobo basketball games when I was a kid. We used to sit right above the ramp, and I used to dream about being in the middle of the court and with the fans cheering all around me,” he said during a lunch break. “Now I’m here.”

The Albuquerque native was just one out of more than 150 New Mexicans hired to work during the final stages of the $58 million Pit renovation, said Jim Hernandez, pipe metal foreman.

Between 100 and 300 employees worked Monday-Friday and occasionally on the weekend for 22 months of construction, said Tim Cass, senior associate athletics director.

Cass said 95 percent of subcontractors worked for New Mexico companies.
Hernandez, a Denver-based contractor, said his company was hired through a Colorado-New Mexico union coalition. Although he is not a local, he said 48 of his 60 employees were hired through the New Mexico union.

“When we won the contract, we were told to hire local workers, and we did,” Hernandez said. “We’ve hired a group of Native American workers, and one told me he played here in high school.”

Hernandez said his company installed hand rails and internal pipes at the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies baseball stadiums, the New INVESCO Field in Denver and The University of Phoenix Stadium, host of the BCS championship game.

“When I first got here, this was a building that needed to be demolished,” Hernandez said. “Now it’s something you all should be proud of.”
Santa Rosa resident Murillo Magdalena said The Pit’s construction, funded with an $18 million bond measure passed by voters in 2007 and a $40 million loan taken out by the Athletics Department, has kept many contractors employed during a time when contracts are lean.
“It’s been tough getting bids, with the economy and all, but we’ve been here for a month,” said Magdalena, who installed insulation inside The Pit. “It’s been a blessing because people now want to work with someone who worked on the Pit.”

Magdalena and his crews were installing double-sheet insulation panels on the stairwell that connects the locker rooms with the training facilities, and he said they have at least a week left of work, days before the Pit’s grand re-opening Nov. 1.

“We’ve been working 12-hour days, even on Saturday,” he said. “With all the dust, it looks like we won’t finish, but we’ll get it done.”
In the final weeks workers will continue putting the final touches on The Pit, including painting white walls cherry and silver, carpeting the locker room, installing equipment and signs, testing security systems and ensuring that the video screens work.

Devore said his work, installing audio speakers and fire alarms, will finish at the end of the week.

“For how big this job is it’s been a thrill from the start,” he said. “I can’t wait to come to a game with my girlfriend and point to areas and be like, ‘I did that.’”