Rush On To Refit FleetCenter For DNC
Workers Prepare For Democratic Party
POSTED: 5:08 pm EDT June 23,
2004
UPDATED: 5:25 pm EDT June 23,
2004
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BOSTON -- The noise of jackhammers, blowtorches and electric drills filled the Fleet Center Wednesday as workers rushed to renovate the sports arena into convention central for the Democratic Party.
NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that with the convention beginning in just one month, work continues 24-seven.Workers are rebuilding the FleetCenter from the inside out."Fifty-nine pieces of steel (have been added) in the roof of the FleetCenter from which we will hang the lighting grid and some of the stage elements that are necessary to support the show," Convention Hall Director Alan Rose said.Officials have been in the building for 12 days. Police union protests two weeks ago kept unionized workers out."We're putting in 25,000 square feet of office space that is necessary to run the convention. You'll see today we've also removed all of the handrails on the south side of the lower bowl areas so that we can build the stage. We'll be installing over 120 temporary doors and media suites," Rose said.On Monday, 200 Verizon workers began laying more than 4,000 miles of wiring."It supports data, voice, video, 15,000 media who are descending on our city and everything that it takes to run the convention behind the scenes," Verizon spokesman Jack Hoey said.Outside the building, they're two thirds done with putting together the aluminum super structure, the roof of a temporary two-floor media building. It will have canvas sides.Critics predict security will make the convention cost nearly twice the $50 million estimate, but renovators promise their costs are fixed.With 32 days left, planners say they're on schedule and on budget.
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