Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Steel structure of Las Vegas Arena complete as construction chugs along

MGM and AEG expect to sell naming rights in coming months

Las Vegas Arena Topping Off Ceremony

Steve Marcus

Workers watch as the final steel beam is lifted into place during a topping off ceremony for the Las Vegas Arena on Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Representatives from MGM Resorts International and AEG, contractors Hunt-Penta and elected officials were on hand to celebrate the installation of the arena’s final steel beam. The $375 million arena is scheduled to open in Spring 2016.

Arena Topping Off Ceremony

Workers take video on their phones as the final steel beam is lifted into place during a topping off ceremony for the Las Vegas Arena Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Representatives from MGM Resorts International and AEG, contractors Hunt-Penta and elected officials were on hand to celebrate the installation of the arena's final steel beam. The $375 million arena is scheduled to open in Spring 2016. Launch slideshow »

Many I-15 commuters and Strip wanderers have marveled at the construction pace of MGM and AEG’s joint Las Vegas Arena project over the last year.

The 20,000-seat venue sandwiched between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo is indeed coming to life quicker than expected, according to Project Manager Monte Thurmond. MGM Resorts held a ceremony this morning to celebrate the completion of the arena’s frame with the installation of the final steam beam, a milestone that occurred two days ahead of schedule.

“There’s always challenges, but it has gone smoothly in the grand scheme of things because of the amount of planning that went into it,” Thurmond said. “To be able to hit this day two days before what we planned a year ago is fairly significant.”

Construction, budgeted at $375 million, is set to finish in April with the grand opening sometime shortly afterwards, well within time to house a potential NHL team for the 2016-17 season. Recent building progress inside the structure includes the foundation for permanent refrigeration piping in the ground necessary for an ice rink.

Most of the advances on site for the next several months will take place inside the base, leaving development less visible to bystanders.

“We’ll be thinking about a lot of things that will be held here — the fights, the awards shows and hopefully the hockey games,” Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said.

But Wednesday was more about the conclusion of one stage than the promise of the next few. The nearly 300 construction workers on site were saluted and encouraged to sign the approximately 1,000-pound steel piece before a 154-foot crane hoisted it in the air.

Three receivers on platforms 125 feet above ground secured the steel into place after a 15-minute press conference.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, actually many, many years,” said Mark Prows, MGM’s senior vice president for arenas. “To stand here on the site and see this top out today is literally a pinnacle of my career and something very special.”

Groundbreaking on the project took place on May 1, 2014. The site was clear of the MGM corporate offices that used to partially occupy the space by July, when Thurmond and his team of joint contractors at Hunt-Pena informed the MGM that the steel would be done by late May.

They started placing the steel beams — the 7,000 pieces range from two to 350 feet in length and weigh a total of 7,100 tons — in November and encountered no major snags.

“Today’s the day we finished the structure,” Thurmond said. “Our next milestone will be enclosing the structure, then that will give us the last six months to put in all the special systems, the finishes and the millwork that will make this uniquely a Las Vegas destination.”

Mark Faber, vice president for global partnership at AEG, also revealed today that the company expected to sell naming rights to the arena before the end of the summer with “numerous conversations and negotiations” underway.

If they follow the speed of the construction, expect Las Vegas’ first major arena project in more than 20 years to have a name sooner rather than later.

“Six months ago, none of this was here,” Thurmond said. “Ten months from now, we’re going to be handing over the keys to (MGM and AEG).”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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