Mortenson

Construction of $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium achieves certificate of occupancy

The Mortenson | McCarthy joint venture has received a certificate of occupancy on Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and notably the largest entertainment venue in Las Vegas.

The joint venture team wrapped up the $1.97 billion facility on July 30, marking the end of a successful 31-month-long construction schedule, a mere forty months after the NFL’s approval of the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas. With this milestone reached, Allegiant Stadium’s operations team will move into their new facility to begin preparations for the venue’s first event.

The 1.8 million-SF stadium will also host UNLV football and a variety of other sporting and non-sporting events. The facility features 65,000 seats, a retractable natural turf field, large operable walls that open to spectacular views of the Las Vegas strip, a translucent roof and a variety of premium spaces throughout all levels.

As the design-build contractor responsible for Allegiant Stadium’s design and construction, Mortenson and McCarthy led a team comprised of more than 200 firms; including engineers, subconsultants, trade contractors, and vendors and partnered with the Raiders organization, owner’s representative CAA ICON, designer MANICA Architecture and the project’s design team which includes architect HNTB and engineers Arup, Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. and Kimley Horn.

Visually inspired by the sleek and gradual curves of a futuristic luxury vehicle, Allegiant Stadium is unlike any other venue, making it an architectural and engineering marvel. The unique features of the domed stadium include the cable net truss system used for the roof. The seven-acre ETFE roof is suspended by 100 stainless steel cables that create the light-weight roof structure diaphragm.

Meeting the challenge to provide the Raiders with a real grass field in the desert, the building also features a retractable field system. Weighing nearly 20 million pounds, the playing field is housed in a movable “tray” and moves on 540 electrically-powered wheels, which allows the natural grass field to move outdoors for sunlight and water. This feature provides the stadium with both natural grass or turf playing surfaces.

The Mortenson and McCarthy duo made worker safety a priority throughout construction and in doing so achieved a remarkable safety record with a total recordable incident rate (TRIR) of 0.98, which is less than one-third the national average. More than 12,000 individuals contributed to the project’s design and construction.

Workforce and business inclusion were at the forefront of building Allegiant Stadium. The project exceeded all small and diverse business goals, with 23% awarded to small businesses and 62% of the workforce being minority and female.

From the procurement process to training opportunities and student tours exciting the next generation of builders, efforts were focused on the Las Vegas local community. More than six million labor hours went in to constructing the project and an estimated 6,000 recurring jobs will be sustained or created to maintain venue operations.