Ostrow Electric and IBEW Local 96 Team Up
Polar Park facade view / Rendering courtesy of Worcester Red Sox
Worcester, MA – On May 15, Worcester-based IBEW Local 96 signatory contractor, Ostrow Electric Company, and its crew of Local 96 electricians started electrical construction work at Polar Park, the new home of the Worcester Red Sox, located in the heart of Worcester’s historic resurgent Canal District in Kelley Square.
The ballpark, the signature project in the current redesign and redevelopment of 18-acres in the Canal District, will have a seating capacity of approximately 9,000 to 10,000 patrons.
The project team includes architect, D’Agostino Izzo Quirk (DAIQ) Architects, Somerville; construction manager, Gilbane-AECOM Hunt, A Joint Venture, Boston; and owner’s project manager, Skanska USA Building Inc., Boston. The field crew, currently comprised of 32 Local 96 electricians, will expand to approximately 60 union electricians at peak construction.
Ostrow Electric’s comprehensive project scope entails installation of all of Polar Park’s electrical systems, including primary power/electrical distribution, emergency power, lighting, fire alarm, telecommunications, and audio-visual.
IBEW Local 96 at Polar Park / Photo by Lynne Damianos, Damianos Photography
The ballpark’s primary power, a 5000A/480V service, will be delivered through two 2000A 480V switchboards. The electrical service includes a busway to allow for a future capacity of 8000A. Emergency power, in the event of a power outage, will be provided by a 350kW diesel generator.
The facility’s Musco sports lighting system is comprised of six sports lighting poles providing 125-foot candles of light on the field. Two lighting arrays will be shaped as hearts to represent the city of Worcester with heights ranging from 100-120 feet in overall height. Two poles mount on the Polar Park stadium structure; the Musco light pole on the third-base line will be constructed to pass through the building. The light poles will be equipped with state-of-the-art, energy-saving LED fixtures.
Ostrow and its Local 96 electrical team also are tasked with installing exterior lighting for the stadium.
Life safety systems at Polar Park are of paramount importance and the facility will be equipped with the most advanced, Honeywell Notifier Class A addressable fire alarm system.
Sam Ostrow and Mike Sormanti of Gilbane
The stadium will feature a dynamic, fully-integrated audio-visual (AV) system comprised of speakers, broadcast television, and radio broadcast capability, and a state-of-the-art LED scoreboard. Installations for linear LED ad signage will also be installed throughout the stadium structure.
The planning, design, and construction of Polar Park is a mutual endeavor between the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, the city of Worcester, and the Worcester Red Sox. It is slated for completion by April 2021, when the season is scheduled to open.
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Polar Beverages, a prominent Worcester-based beverage company, has retained the naming rights to the ballpark.
The project is being led by Ostrow VP and project executive, Sam Ostrow, Greg Sallhofen, PM; and Tim Fleming, electrical foreman. Ostrow Electric and Local 96 are meeting or exceeding all project local workforce and diversity hiring goals:
- Worcester residents in the workforce – goal: 25%. Presently, 33% of the Local 96 crew are from Worcester;
- Women in the workforce: expected to meet or exceed the goal of 6.9% women;
- Number of Minorities in the workforce – goal: 15.3%; presently 31.5% of Ostrow Electric’s Local 96 workforce are minorities.
The project is an IBEW/NECA Code of Excellence project, a commitment that all Local 96 union electrical workers will perform the highest quality and quantity of work, utilizing their best skills, and exercising the safest work practices.
IBEW Local 96 business manager, Thomas Maloney said, “The Code of Excellence agreement is a guarantee from IBEW Local 96 and Ostrow Electric Company signed by each member of the workforce, that all union electricians and technicians give 100% effort in delivering on our promise of safety and productivity. It provides assurance to ownership, the Red Sox organization and the city of Worcester, that the region’s most highly trained and proficient workers will perform to the highest level of professionalism and productivity on the project.”
All Local 96 journeymen and apprentice electricians are required to receive certification of Code of Excellence training.
All work is being performed with strict adherence to Governor Baker’s COVID-19 construction work safety protocol and guidelines. The project is running just ahead of schedule.
