A rush to build the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with too little money contributed to the February 2007 floor collapse that disrupted operations and cost $4 million, according to a report that Allegheny County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty released yesterday.

Mr. Flaherty found that the conditions that led to the collapse aren't mirrored in the new Penguins arena effort, which, like the convention center project, is being administered by the Sports & Exhibition Authority.

"You have private money going in [to the arena], so you have an additional set of eyes," he said. Plus, the builders will have to guarantee the price.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato agreed that the arena is being handled differently and said he'd make sure that more safeguards are put in place to prevent the mistakes and subsequent finger-pointing that marked the center's construction.

"The SEA should make sure that somebody takes the lead on this, [and] is responsible for the final approval, if it's design, if it's architectural, if it's engineering," said Mr. Onorato.

Mr. Flaherty found that the center project started with an estimate of $217 million, but final hard construction costs were around $300 million.

The center's unusual design drove costs up. Meanwhile, the construction manager -- a joint venture of Turner Construction, P.J. Dick Inc. and ATS Inc. -- had no legal responsibility to keep costs down.

"The project was doomed from the start," Mr. Flaherty said.

Cost pressures drove multiple design changes. From wrong-sized bolts to faulty expansion joints, errors occurred, leading to a death during construction, the 2007 floor collapse and an initially unreported 2005 girder failure.

"We just thought that was a travesty," he said of the authority staff's failure to report the 2005 girder problem to its board.

The Penguins arena project, for which ground is to be broken today, is being handled differently. The construction managers, P.J. Dick of West Mifflin and Hunt Construction Group of Scottsdale, Ariz., are responsible for bringing the project in on time and within a yet-undetermined building budget.

The report suggested tighter management of costs by the authority and its board.

Five years ago, "it was a very hands-off type of atmosphere," said Mr. Flaherty. "Now, board members are more responsible."

Authority Executive Director Mary Conturo issued a statement saying that the agency has reviewed the "lessons learned" from its prior projects and "developed this [arena] project accordingly."

Mr. Onorato pointed out that the center was built under different management at the sports authority, county and city. He said he "absolutely" has confidence in Ms. Conturo.

He said the companies responsible for the 2007 expansion joint failure have paid most of the resulting costs. "There's still some further expenditures that, if they don't make us whole, they'll be sued," he said.