chedule in order to overcome some of the later steel deliveries,” Grenz said.

Because of the delay, the structure won’t be fully enclosed until spring, with the curtain wall expected to be complete in early February and the last of the ETFE pillow ceiling panels in March.

Project planners looked to a nearby venue, State Farm Stadium in Arizona, for ideas on how best to design and construct the tray that will hold its retractable field. State Farm was the first NFL facility to implement a system to transport the playing surface indoors for games.​

Weighing in at 1,500 tons when full, the 4-foot-deep movable tray will contain irrigation and drainage systems and soil and grass sourced from a sod farm in Arizona, Grenz said, adding that the grass field was a top requirement for Raiders’ owner Mark Davis. It will also house a heating element to warm the vegetation during cooler winter months.

A series of 76 electric motors will move the field in and out of the south end of the stadium on 13 rails, much like a train. Moving roughly 11 feet per minute, the task will take about 90 minutes to complete. When the tray is inside the venue for Raiders games, the space where it sits outside will be used for tailgating and other events, Mansell said.

Another much-anticipated feature at Allegiant, the massive steel and glass lanai doors, were craned into place late last month. They will likely not be open during events that are held in the summer because of the extreme outdoor heat, Grenz said. Allegiant will also host UNLV Football and a variety of other sporting and non-sporting events.

All in all, the high-end features were carefully selected by the project team to have the best return on investment, Grenz said.

The construction trailers that surround the stadium structure are a hub of activity, where workers for Mortenson, McCarthy and their subs gather each morning. Daily meetings bring together 130 superintendents overseeing up to 2,300 workers during daytime shifts. Select trades also work as needed at night. The JV estimates that the project will use up to 4 million craft-hours upon completion.

Helping to keep this massive team on the same page is ​software from firms like Procore, Matterport, Autodesk and Revitzo. Other technologies that have streamlined the construction process include construction robots from Dusty Robotics, Leica and EarthCam cameras, weekly drone flights of the site and laser scanning for in-wall inspections. The project’s scheduling software, Primavera P6, tracks more than 42,000 activities.

“Using technology at this level has helped to save us both time and money,” Mansell said, adding that it’s also been required by the owner.

“The owner engagement on the technology front has been unlike any other experience that I’ve had,” Grenz said, “to the point where there’s rarely a meeting with Mark Davis that he doesn’t require our technology team to have a seat at the table to showcase our innovative approaches and progress.”

Mortenson’s collaborative relationship with the managers and employees from McCarthy has been especially helpful, Mansell said. Mortenson is the managing partner of the JV, which is a 60-40 split between the two companies.

“The best thing I can say is when I pass people on the site, half the time I’m not sure who works for which company,” he said. “It’s become that integrated.”

The project’s laborers and subcontracting firms are a diverse and local group, with more than 70% of companies based in Nevada. Of the $1 billion worth of work awarded so far, 22% has gone to small business enterprise (SBE) companies and more than 62% of the workforce is minority and/or female, Grenz said. Both metrics far exceed original goals for the project.

Right now, as the clock slowly runs out on the project, everyone involved has their eyes on one goal: finishing the stadium by the end of July.

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