The rhetorical work of a partnership coordinator in mega-project construction

Abstract

Over the past six decades, owners of sport teams and municipalities have been involved in the shared construction of new, state-of-the-art sport facilities. The negotiation and acceptance of these Private–Public Partnerships (PPPs) has often been contentious and unsuccessful. There are, however, other examples where team owners and cities enter into productive business relationships. We argue that one reason for a PPP being successful is that there are certain key actors, partnership coordinators, who are involved in this process. In particular, their skilful “work” at using rhetoric helps characterize the PPP in a specific way whereby the perception is that the risk of the project is distributed evenly amongst all the parties. To explore these ideas, a case study is presented of the successful negotiations in Canada between the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and the City of Edmonton to build a new downtown arena.

Modernization and multipurpose arenas: providing context for tomorrow

“…The last three decades of multipurpose arena construction and renovation demonstrate an increased desire to position facilities as unique, important structures and economic engines within their communities. For example, Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB emerged as an anchor for part of a city revitalization plan to create the mixed-use Ice District which includes commercial and community spaces (Foster et al , 2015).…”

The Deming management method and digital partnering in a construction procurement contract

“…An in-depth case study of a private-public hockey facility suggests that large, state-of-the-art projects requires not only specific forms of work but also designated individuals, "partnership coordinators," defined as "a person (or persons) who facilitates cooperatives with municipal and business entities to enhance the pursuit of collective, social, and competitive gains to attract workers, businesses and other entrepreneurs." These partnership coordinators are key players in the construction process in communicating the value of the partnership as it unfolds, ensuring roles and responsibilities are clear (Foster et al, 2015). A comparison of partnering contracts for construction projects in the UK, US, and Denmark, suggests that there exist differences in such contracts.…”

“…▪ "It seems prudent to have someone involved with the process, but not directly involved with the formal negotiations, take on the role of partnership coordinator" (Foster et al, 2015).…”

“…Successful large construction project (LCP) management often involves a diverse set of external parties (architects, general contractors (GCs), subcontractors, design engineers, etc.) as well as a multitude of internal stakeholders with different functional interests (research and development, procurement, operations, financial officers, investors, local communities, and others) (Bemelmans et al, 2012;Foster et al, 2015). These conditions make it particularly challenging to satisfy all of the stakeholders in LCPs and ensure collaboration among the different parties.…”

“…Large multiyear projects require a more nuanced approach for managing multiple stakeholders in real time, one that creates a mechanism for sharing risks and rewards associated with shifts in environmental conditions within the project environment. While prior studies often advocated a more "collaborative" approach for project management (Dyer and Doyle, 2010;Foster et al, 2015), the practical implications of managing risk require agile responses using digital technologies to monitor the situation. When coupled with the operating principles of the Deming management method focused on variance reduction through review of metrics, superior outcomes can be achieved.…”