Wanted: Contractor to build a 435,000-square-foot riverfront casino. Must work very fast.

As he gears up for the much-anticipated construction of his Pittsburgh casino, Don Barden is just now seeking cost proposals from contractors interested in doing the work.

Mr. Barden and his company, PITG Gaming LLC, are asking for quotes from a "small handful of companies" with an interest in doing the full casino construction, either alone or in conjunction with a construction manager, spokesman Bob Oltmanns said yesterday.

Until now Mr. Barden did not have a full set of casino drawings to offer potential contractors for the fast-tracked project, Mr. Oltmanns said, and that is the reason he waited until now to get cost proposals.

"Not until very recently have we had a complete set of architectural and engineering drawings on which to base the construction of the casino," he said. "Now that we have them and are ready to move forward we need an accurate and reliable cost proposal for the actual construction."

For much of the past year, Mr. Barden has worked with Turner Construction on the Pittsburgh casino, which will be built on the North Shore west of Carnegie Science Center. Mr. Oltmanns said Turner was hired to do pre-development work that is now winding down and would be invited to submit a proposal for the construction.

A Turner spokesman said the company has a confidentiality agreement with Mr. Barden and cannot comment.

Mr. Oltmanns declined to name the other companies asked to submit cost proposals, but said all had experience in building large facilities like casinos and hotels.

"We're looking for the best qualified partner with the best possible price," he said.

Mr. Oltmanns did not have a date by which the proposals must be submitted but said the search for a contractor would "not slow down the project."

The casino opening, at one point targeted for March 2008, has been delayed twice, in part because of appeals filed by the losing bidders challenging the license award to Mr. Barden.

PITG Gaming is now shooting for the end of 2008, based on a 16-month construction schedule.

The cost of the casino has been estimated at $450 million. Mr. Oltmanns said Mr. Barden is asking the contractors to provide a guaranteed price in their proposals.

"We have a project budget that we have to live by. We have to be a responsible project manager in all of this. We're looking to create a world-class facility but we have to do it responsibly," he said.

Once construction starts, crews are expected to work two shifts a day, possibly as much as 10 hours in each shift, to complete the project.

Some construction experts have doubted that the casino can be built as quickly as PITG Gaming wants. But Mr. Oltmanns said Mr. Barden is confident that it can be done.