By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Raiders stadium construction site is getting lots of attention these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But moving along is another big construction project that has a strong sports angle — the downtown 777-room Circa hotel-casino that will have a monster-sized 134-by-41-foot sportsbook screen. Circa is the pride and joy of downtown hotel-casino owner and big sports fan Derek Stevens.
Noted local contractor McCarthy Building Companies is overseeing the construction of Circa, which is expected to cost in the $1 billion ballpark. It’s supposed to open in the December-January time frame.
But on Saturday LVSportsBiz.com learned a worker at the downtown Circa construction site has tested positive for COVID-19. In Nevada, more than 3,300 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 142 Nevadans have died from the virus. People do not have a natural immunity to this virus, which health officials believe came from a wet market in China.
While two Raiders stadium construction site workers have tested positive for COVID-19, LVSportsBiz.com is not aware of any coronavirus-positive workers at the Circa site.
Circa has already become a sports betting brand, cutting a a 15-year deal with a company that owns properties in Cripple Creek and Central City in Colorado.
Stevens, who owns The D and Golden Gate in downtown, also supports sports through Downtown Events Center, which has hosted VGK and Raiders watch parties and MMA fight shows.
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