Citifield On Schedule

John Delcos at the Journal News writes about the Mets new ball park:

Jeff Wilpon said the construction progress at Citi Field is on time and on budget, and that the Mets' new stadium is set to open in 2009.

"I am very pleased with how things are progressing," the Mets' chief operating officer said yesterday. "We are on schedule. The winter has been pretty good to us, so we might actually be ahead of schedule."

Wilpon said the project, which will cost $800 million, is currently within 1 percent of its budget.

Hunt-Bovis is the contractor, and its projects included new parks in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Construction began in right field and will move clockwise. Already the framework for a stair tower has been built, and cement supports for the installation of several foundation beams have been poured.

Wilpon said by Opening Day the steel girders for the first level will be up, and by June the exterior facing on the first level will be raised.

Currently, there are about 200 construction workers on site, but when the project speeds up this summer, up to 1,000 will be working any given day, and before completion up to 6,000 will be used.