Construction Underway For Papal Visit
By Greg Argos
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In just 11 days, His Holy Father Pope Francis will set foot in Philadelphia, and he'll also set foot on a custom built stage.
"We're erecting the roof structure which will be 100 foot wide by 90 foot deep arch which will cover our stage as we'll call it Saturday for the Festival of Families and of course it'll cover our sanctuary for the papal mass on Sunday," said Scott Merkin, the president of Philadelphia-based ESM Productions.
Merkin gave CBS3's Greg Argos a behind-the-scenes look at the construction Tuesday afternoon.
"We have 28 miles of cable being distributed throughout this area. There are about 40,000 feet of truss. (There are) 30 miles of audio cable. (There are) 15,000 feet of construction fence," he explained.
"Simply put, it's a big project," responded Argos.
"It's a gigantic project. It's a huge event that requires many many people to come together. It's definitely a team effort," said Merkin.
In all, that team is about 3,000 people strong, though about 75 men and women are working on the project today. The final stage should be built by early next week.