SoFi, Allegiant Stadium work on amidst COVID-19

Article by Coliseum, published March 26, 2020

Image: LA Rams/LA Times/reviewjournal

Coronavirus has struck a lethal blow to the world economy as it forces countries into lockdown, stock markets have tanked, tourism industry has been hollowed out and important events and conferences have all been cancelled. It is almost like COVID-19 has sent the whole world packing.

Against such a backdrop, the construction of few stadiums is still on despite the fact that the residents have voiced concerns.

Allegiant Stadium

Although the majority of businesses at Nevada in US are closed following a directive from Governor Steve Sisolak to curb the spread of COVID-19, work on Allegiant Stadium moves on.

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Sisolak made it mandatory that all hotel-casino properties close for 30 days while encouraging all other non-essential business to shut down for that duration. Construction projects like the stadium, Circa Resort and Resorts World, not specifically named, are apparently allowed to remain active.

An email released by the Governor’s office outlining the essential and non-essential businesses says guidelines for construction, mining and manufacturing industries are going to be made by the State Department of Business and Industry. However, the mail made it clear that those will include “strong protocols for social distancing”.

However, the stadium construction work still on amidst coronavirus pandemic has not gone down well with some residents who have voiced concern about the project employing in excess of 2,000 people and how such a large workforce could be prime for possibly spreading the novel coronavirus.

Las Vegas Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill, who also serves as CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, beg to differ. Hill said that with a project site as large as the stadium, social distancing recommendations of maintaining at least 6 feet between each person can be easily carried out.

“Being outside helps a lot. These construction sites are huge. On a huge construction site like this … that (social distancing) should not be an impact felt on a construction site,” Hill further maintained.

Treasurer of the Laborers Local 872 and former Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board member Tommy White said they have been told that construction was part of the essential business list. White also confirmed the Nevada State Contractors Board sent out a note alerting stadium trade partners that the stadium project was not impacted by the non-essential business shutdown.

“Construction in all areas of the State is essential, not just the stadium,” White said.

Hill said recently that there is no concern of the coronavirus outbreak affecting the stadium’s scheduled completion date of July 31 this year.

“Although we don’t have any experience with the coronavirus, I cannot envision a situation where the coronavirus would impact the construction of the stadium,” he further asserted.

Construction work is on in full gusto at the Allegiant Stadium construction site and crews can be seen working all around the stadium, carrying out signage work and a bevy of other tasks.

According to sources, the development is currently over 85 percent complete with $1.4 billion of the $1.97 billion project budget expended.

SoFi Stadium

Construction work on SoFi Stadium at Inglewood in California, US, is continuing because the work is exempt from Governor Gavin Newsom’s order that all Californians stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.

The new, 70,000-seat home of the Rams and Chargers is set to open in late July this year and has an estimated price tag of $5 billion, making it the most expensive venue in National Football League (NFL) history.

To justify their construction work during coronavirus concerns, representatives of the project showed a letter sent by Inglewood Mayor James T Butts Jr to County Supervisor Kathryn Barger in which Butts wrote that, based on the city’s understanding of the Governor’s order, as well as a similar mandate issued by Los Angeles County officials, neither apply to Inglewood public construction efforts. Those include infrastructure related to the stadium, as well as the stadium itself, he wrote.

“The State order is intended to ‘establish consistency across the State’ and provides for the ‘continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, critical Government services, schools, childcare, and construction, including housing construction,’ ” Butts wrote.

Los Angeles Rams new logo

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) – who will be moving into the under construction SoFi Stadium which is all set to open in July 2020 – officially unveiled their new logo and color scheme during a livestream on their team site and social media channels on Monday afternoon.

“We wanted to make sure all Rams fans can see our new marks and, especially, our new colors, which represent the vibrant, sunny optimism of Southern California life,” said Kevin Demoff, Los Angeles Rams Chief Operating Officer (COO) as regards the decision to reveal the new marks amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

“Those colors and these logos will serve as a bright reminder that there is a sunny future ahead for all of Southern California,” he affirmed.

This marks the first major logo update in 20 years for the Rams, who are also set to unveil new uniforms in the coming months. An official date has not been set, but it’s expected to occur before the team moves into SoFi Stadium in July this year.

The new logo follows the same design as the leaked 2020 NFL Draft cap, and includes a stylized ‘LA’ with a horn protruding from the ‘A’. What could not be gathered from the draft hat — which followed a neon-light inspired design to match the host city of Las Vegas — was the color distribution.

The ‘LA’ in the new logo is blue when used on a white background, but the ‘A’ notably transitions from blue to different shades of yellow as it mimics the curvature of an actual Ram’s horns.

A press release sent out by Los Angeles Rams stated, “The LA mark was crafted with a focus on the horn intertwining with LA, ensuring that the Rams are forever tied to the city of Los Angeles. The gradient in the horn transitions from a white horn to a more vibrant ‘Sol’ horn as a way to pay homage to the evolution of the color of the horns that have historically adorned the Rams’ helmets.”

The release further stated, “The mark was crafted to evoke a sense of upward and forward movement, amplified by the gradients. The letters are italicized, mirroring the connected, progressive nature of both LA and the Rams organization. The depth of the mark design creates a sophisticated look unique to the Rams within the ecosystem of the NFL.”

The horn — which is also supposed to represent a perfectly thrown spiral and a wave in the ocean — is then carried over to the Rams’ new secondary logo, which pulls inspiration from the franchises’ earliest marks.

Sum-up

Though construction work of stadiums has been allowed in the midst of stay-at-home orders, but concerned authorities have also underlined that “social distancing” should be maintained. But, the question which arises is – is social distancing possible when so many workers are at work together? Is it so important that stadium construction work should continue when COVID-19 is causing so much of misery and sufferings worldwide with scores of human lives lost?

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