Hill & Cox to manage construction of Majestic Park baseball complex

Visit Hot Springs on Tuesday selected Hill & Cox Corp. to serve as the construction manager for the Majestic Park baseball complex, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2021, Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said Wednesday.

“It’s a professional services contract, we had the six people rated with various firms; it’s the typical policy the city uses to determine professional services, so they were rated and then we negotiated with the number one rated firm, which was Hill & Cox,” Arrison said.

“They were the number one rated firm out of three that responded to our request for qualifications,” Arrison said.

He said they are still “ironing out” the contract with the construction company, but it is expected to be ratified by the Hot Springs Board of Directors at its next meeting.

“The hope at this time is we can start construction in January and hopefully in that first quarter of 2021 be playing baseball,” Arrison said. “Hopefully at least by March 1 of 2021, if not earlier. Starting construction in the wintertime a lot depends on weather. But hopefully, we’d like to have it ready to do some high school, college games in January, February ‘21, but hopefully at the latest we’ll have it ready for the youth baseball season spring of 2021.”

He said the percentage of the total project Hill & Cox will receive is currently being discussed in the contract review.

“Usually a construction manager gets a percentage of the total project and those are the details we’re working out now and as soon as we get that contract we’ll get it to the city attorney and then get it in front of the city board to get it approved.”

Arrison said Visit Hot Springs always tries to go with a local firm when possible.

“We’re really excited about it, we’re glad to see a well-established local firm with a great reputation,” he said. “All things being equal, we’ll always go with the local to follow the bid, the established policies, but we always love it when we see local.”

Majestic Park will be a five-field baseball complex located on 16 acres owned by the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission at the former site of the Boys & Girls Club of Hot Springs at 109 W. Belding St. It is being funded by the proceeds from an $8.5 million bond issue city voters approved on Sept. 10 (see related story).

The project would include five recreational ball fields for competitive league and tournament play. Other facilities will include a grandstand, concessions, restrooms, warm-up areas, batting cages and shaded playground areas. New parking areas will also be included.