LAS VEGAS – Officials on Friday declared “substantial completion” of Allegiant Stadium after nearly 1,000 days spent building the $ 2 billion home of the relocated NFL Raiders.
Friday is the deadline for completion since the ground was broken in November 2017 for the 65,000-seat domed stadium just off the Las Vegas Strip.
“We still have to finish the job,” Raiders team owner Mark Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He said there was a checklist.
The finishing touches in the coming weeks would not have prevented the stadium from hosting events, but officials acknowledge that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the lineup.
The first scheduled event at the stadium, a sold-out Garth Brooks concert, has been postponed from August 22 to February 27 due to the virus.
The Raiders’ first regular-season game after their move from Oakland is scheduled for Monday night, September 21, against the New Orleans Saints.
The stadium will also host UNLV football, which leaves the aging Sam Boyd Stadium across town. The Rebels’ first game at Allegiant Stadium is scheduled for Oct. 10 against Wyoming, though the school is trying to arrange an Aug. 29 game against TCU.
Clark County officials issued a temporary occupancy certificate last week valid until August 22.
“I am happy to see the stadium reach the substantial completion date, an important milestone in any construction project,” said Governor Steve Sisolak, who as chairman of the Clark County Commission in 2016 played a key role in the stadium approval process.
“This stadium has already turned out to be a big thing for this community, including creating a lot of jobs,” he said.
Thousands of construction workers spent 993 days building the facility, and officials predict thousands more jobs will be created. The Review-Journal reported that the team and its partners are hiring for 4,500 part-time positions.
The state legislature met for a special session in 2016 to approve a $ 1.8 billion fundraising plan, including $ 750 million in taxes and $ 1.2 billion from the team thanks to a combination of sales of personal seat licenses and loans from the NFL and Bank of America.
The Stadium Authority last year approved increasing the stadium’s budget to $ 2 billion.
The tax money comes from a hotel room tax of less than 1% at properties on the Las Vegas Strip.
Teams overcame various issues that could have delayed the project, including the delivery of steel in spring 2019, issues with the complex wire mesh roof and the March pandemic attack.
Officials have carried out a massive testing effort, and project builder Mortenson / McCarthy said in May it was working with the Southern Nevada Health District to investigate the detected cases.
Officials announced the naming rights deal with Allegiant Airlines a year ago.
A patchwork of parking arrangements will provide 25,000 spaces, stadium officials said, with around 15,000 within walking distance. Team officials say about 5,000 of the 7,000 tailgating spots will also be within walking distance.
Nevada does not currently allow sporting events to be held with fans in attendance, and the state has yet to indicate when fans will be allowed to attend major events.
Sisolak said the stadium changed the landscape of Las Vegas, noting that it was visible for arriving and departing flights from nearby McCarran International Airport.
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