Contractors for Raiders stadium to issue first bid requests in July

Contractors for the Las Vegas stadium project will issue the first of six procurement bid requests July 3 and expect prospective bidders to return proposals by the end of that month, the building team told subcontractors and suppliers Thursday.

In what was billed a kickoff meeting for the project, an estimated 1,300 people jammed a ballroom at Green Valley Ranch Resort to learn about the estimated $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium being built for the Oakland Raiders when they relocate to Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL season.

Representatives of co-contractors Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction and Henderson’s McCarthy Building Cos. introduced the stadium development team and offered new details about the project contractors hope to begin later this year and complete by June 2020.

Project principal John Wood of Mortenson, a national builder of stadium and arena projects, said it was the best turnout for a project kickoff meeting he had ever seen.

“We’ll usually get maybe 300 people at meetings like this,” Wood said after the hourlong session.

At one point, Wood had to ask people to fill empty seats among the 1,000 set up in the ballroom to satisfy building fire and safety codes.

Contractors said there would be between 24,000 and 25,000 “work activities” in the 31-month construction schedule, which Wood said would begin in November with the mobilization of equipment and initial earthwork.

The first procurement bidding will be for structural steel and precast, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, elevators, escalators, heating and air conditioning controls and the stadium’s lightweight, transparent ETFE roof. ETFE is a co-polymer resin that is pressed into a thin film.

Architect David Manica told the crowd that the inspiration for the design is “a luxurious black sports car.” Manica confirmed that the roof would be rigid but that the field surface would be retractable with a natural grass surface grown outdoors but wheeled into the stadium for games.

Excavation

Builders will excavate 26 feet for the lower bowl of the stadium. As the stadium stands and walls rise around the bowl, builders will use four cranes on the construction site over the course of the project.

The project team emphasized that project labor harmony would be essential to successfully completing the facility on time, noting that there would be no time for strikes or work stoppages.

Lynn Littlejohn, director of community benefits for the project, also told the crowd that the community benefits program, mandated by legislation establishing the financing of the project, is an imperative.

The program establishes Small Business Enterprise participation with a goal of 15 percent of contracts going to qualifying companies.

The program also provides a standard for workplace diversity, community engagement, technical assistance programs and internships.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.