For both Joanna De Vuono and Daniel Pagliacci, serving as project managers during the recent high-visibility Rogers Centre renovation project represented a unique opportunity to expand their skillsets while working under tremendous pressure.
De Vuono and Pagliacci talked about their PM experiences during a panel session billed as Inside the Mechanics – Rogers Centre, presented at the recent Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada Emerging Leaders conference in Toronto. The moderator for the session was Kyle Getty, general manager with Sutherland-Schultz.
De Vuono was still in her 20s when her firm, VR Mechanical, was assigned responsibility for the mechanical system upgrades for the first two phases of the $300-million reno project beginning in 2022.
Pagliacci was project manager for Symtech Innovations, subcontracted to undertake electrical work. PCL was the general contractor.
The multi-year project by owner Rogers was intended to transform the facility from multi-purpose to a pure ballpark. Phase one (2022–2023) redeveloped the outfield with demolition of the existing seating area and creation of an Outfield District; phase two (2023-2024) was a lower bowl rebuild with demolition and reconstruction of the 100 level between the foul poles, reorientation of seats and the addition of new player facilities and clubs.
High stakes
The stadium was 33 years old when the project was announced in July 2022. The stakes were high, with media constantly looking for stories and the various project teams thrown together once the baseball season ended in early October, faced with a hard deadline – the next season’s opening day the following April.
De Vuono said she obtained a first set of drawings in the summer but VR didn’t get its hands on final drawings until closer to October, “which is when we were already in there, ready to go.
“We received changes throughout the entire duration of the project…Just so much changing so fast.”
For the first phase, VR had a young team, with one co-ordinator freshly graduated from school. It was De Vuono’s first large project and she admitted she did not feel ready for the job. A female manager at VR pushed her into the fray.
“If I was not given the opportunity, I would not have taken it myself,” she told the MCAC delegates. “But we executed it, it was done very successfully.
“Phase two, I ended up doing that as well. I had a larger team, but again, we were all young…it was over double the scope in same amount of time.”
De Vuono’s team learned on the job, relying on extensive collaboration, taking advantage of all the resources at their disposal – and dedicated to hard work.
Since the Rogers job Pagliacci has moved to Plan Group, where he is account executive with electrical services. He began his career in 2009 as an electrician and advanced into management.
Pagliacci recalled watching a Jays playoff game and thinking the start of work hinged on whether the Jays won or lost that day. There were many systems to install, a tight schedule and a large team to manage, he said.
The Rogers Centre hummed with activity, with daily site meetings for foremen – and PCL had some 20 site supers. It was imperative the teams co-ordinate their efforts, Pagliacci said.
The public scrutiny added stress, he said, but on the flip side the pressure brought everyone together including vendors and subs.
The environment was a crucible that forced the leaders to work proactively to identify and solve problems, to develop backup plans – because an extension was not possible, said Du Vuono.
“You know there is just zero room to push the project back. So it really does change the way that you tackle everyday issues,” she said.
Value engineering
The perpetual adrenaline rush extended to value engineering. When VR realized during phase two that a large air-handling unit was not going to arrive in time, they considered options and realized they had another unit of a different size and configuration sitting in storage.
Du Vuono explained the decision was made to have a consultant come in, “cut the unit apart and essentially build a new unit that had all of the performance requirements for the Rogers Centre.”
Pagliacci had a similar story. Right near the end of the job, with all the lights installed, a “pretty fancy system,” the electrical team was asked to install extra lights to flood the stadium whenever the Jays hit a home run.
The team put their heads together, Pagliacci said: “‘Is the current system of lighting compatible with that type of lighting control?’ We were not sure.”
It was all last minute but a solution was devised.
And, “We’ve got a story to tell,” he said.
