A Raiders Stadium Stroll On Fourth Of July
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Wearing masks and maintaining distance, my nephew Sam and I walked from T-Mobile Arena to Allegiant Stadium, with a pit stop at Mandalay Bay before a final walk back to the MGM Grand at the Strip and Tropicana this morning. Happy Independence Day.
It was a walk in the 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. range with toasty temps even during the morning.
And it showed how intertwined the interests of MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Raiders are given the walking proximity of the Raiders’ stadium to the MGM Resorts properties of Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, NY-NY and MGM Grand, plus T-Mobile Arena.
The stadium looked nearly complete as workers were adding features to steps leading up to the stadium on Allegiant Stadium’s north side. That side also has very specific directions and signs aimed at limiting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Masks, obviously, are required.
Eric Grenz, vice president of Mortenson/McCarthy Joint Venture, issued this statement to LVSportsBiz.com regarding the coronavirus testing at the stadium construction site:
“Mortenson/McCarthy’s highest priority on the Allegiant Stadium project is the health and safety of our team members, project partners and the community. As part of a larger community tracing effort and in collaboration with Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), SNHD representatives conducted voluntary, on-site workforce testing on May 7 and May 8.
“Individual testing results are personal and confidential in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and are communicated directly to persons tested. Workers who test positive are required to follow all protocols in place, including notifying their employer, doctor and self-isolating at home until it is safe to return to work.
“We continue to follow guidance on COVID-19 issued by the CDC along with local, state, and federal authorities and implement strict health and safety protocols. Our team will make changes and adjustments as needed or identified in an effort to protect everyone on the Allegiant Stadium project.”
Several new exterior digital boards were installed.
The 65,000-seat domed stadium sits just west of Interstate 15, but Hacienda Avenue is the conduit that makes the Raiders’ black-exterior, glass exterior venue so accessible to the Strip. We walked from T-Mobile Arena to the stadium in about 15 minutes.
The arena, the home of the Vegas Golden Knights and UFC, sits silent. The NHL bypassed the arena to host Eastern Conference games in favor of Edmonton. The Golden Knights will be playing among 12 Western Conference teams in Toronto in the post-season tournament in August.
We hoofed it over I-15 via Hacienda Avenue to Mandalay Bay, where masks and sanitizers were available. We looked to take the tram to Excalibur, but it was closed. So, it was onto Las Vegas Boulevard for a 10-minute walk to MGM Grand.
It was interesting to see a non-smoking area at a sports book at MGM Grand.
Then it was a stroll through the MGM Grand lobby for a walk back to the NY-NY parking garage, where parking is free at that garage and all garage facilities owned by MGM Resorts.
It was subdued and quiet at Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand. Welcome to a Fourth of July Twilight Zone on the world-famous Strip during the age of COVID-19 and a pandemic.
And Happy Birthday to this guy — he would have been 91 today. The torch at Raiders stadium burns for Al Davis.
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