Dive Brief:
- The general contracting team for the $1.9 billion Raiders stadium in Las Vegas said they will begin issuing the first bid requests on July 3, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- Representatives of Mortenson Construction and McCarthy Building Companies, which will manage the project together, told the 1,300 potential bidders gathered at an informational meeting last week that they must have their proposals back to them by the end of July.
- In order to meet the aggressive construction schedule and complete the project in July 2020 — just in time for the start of the 2020-2021 NFL season — project officials said they would begin earthwork and start mobilizing equipment to the site in November.
Dive Insight:
Project officials said that because of the fast-tracked nature of the job, the design process would continue during the first year of construction, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Officials said 15% of the project will go to small businesses, and other community benefits include a plan for worker diversity, internships and technical assistance.
The Raiders organization announced in May that they intended to hire Mortenson, which completed the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings last summer. McCarthy representatives said they have worked with Mortenson previously, including on a $1 billion lab for the Department of Homeland Security.
Soon after the contractor announcement, NFL owners approved the Las Vegas Stadium Authority's conditional lease deal with the team. The authority will own the venue — in exchange for a significant state and local financing package backed by hotel taxes — and lease it back to the team for $1 a year.
Before the authority can give its final approval, it must come to an agreement with the team on issues like naming rights and how the University of Nevada will use the facility, as well as pass local and state environmental reviews. The Federal Aviation Administration must also conduct a review of the stadium to determine whether it could interfere with air traffic.
The Raiders' aggressive preliminary construction timeline of only 30 months would be faster than any domed NFL stadium has ever been built.
