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Bolts Breaking and Roof Raising Delay at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

12/16/2019

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Roof Raising Delayed at Allegiant Stadium 

LAS VEGAS, NV: Don Webb and the Las Vegas Review-Journal finally admitted that the EFTE roof raising process is delayed and that bolts are breaking at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
***** UPDATE: 12-30-2019 at 11:57AM: We just received confirmation from an ex-worker on the site that the roof isn’t raising because the inspectors shut it down do to “structural members” of the building breaking when they were lifting in cold weather.

Mortenson/McCarthy was warned by Freyssinet not to attempt to raise the roof after Oct 31st 2019 due to historically unfavorable weather conditions in Las Vegas during the months of November, December, January and February. However, on November 1st 2019, Tommy White from the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, gave the “go ahead” to continue raising the roof on KTNV Las Vegas, despite adverse weather conditions.

Instead of waiting until after Winter, the crew rushed to lift the roof in the middle October. In October 31st, temperatures froze for the first time this season. That’s when the “structural members” of the stadium broke due to over stressing and the inspectors shut down the project.

They do not know when they can begin lifting again, hence the concern from Mark Davis and Roger Goodell, who visited the site after hearing the news on December 5th, 2019. There is no date to begin lifting again.
roof raising delays EFTE Las Vegas raiders Time-Line of what could have caused the roof raising delay at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas where the Raiders will play the 2020 NFL Season.
What is disturbing is that it appears that Mick Akers and Rick Velotta from the Las Vegas Review-Journal withheld valuable information to intentionally keep this from the season ticket buyers.  The Review-Journal was purchased by Sheldon Adelson of the Las Vegas Venetian and Sands Corps (NASDAQ: LVS) in 2015.

Timeline of the Roof Raising Delay Explained

roof raising delay raiders stadium Las Vegas allegiantThe Las Vegas Stadium is fund by the sales of season tickets aka Personal Seat Licenses or PSLs. Any overages are paid for by the ticket holders.
The Jedi have been keeping a journal of the Review-Journal. We created a timeline of events and compared them to the published headlines. It is apparent that they knew about the roof raising issues BEFORE the November 15th season ticket payments were due.  Further, they did not publish any article regarding a roof delay or bolts breaking until after the buyers made their initial payments.  

Why Would a Major Newspaper Print Three Missed Deadlines With No Explanation?

Mick Akers from the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote that the roof was originally scheduled to be lifted by the end of October. After a series of denying any sort of delays, Mick finally noted the delay on November 18th; the Monday after Friday the 15th. Season ticket payments were due on November 15th.

Noted delay in the cable net roof system raise at @AllegiantStadm (Orig slated for Nov. 10 completion) offset by being ahead on other tasks, like lower bowl stadia installation. 1,950 construction workers on site keeping July 31 completion date on track. #vegas #raiders #stadium pic.twitter.com/cIce4dJwAw

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) November 18, 2019
Mick Akers kale news bullyMick Akers spent two days squashing any social media reports that suggested the roof raising was delayed.
Further, when social media reports began bubbling on October 2nd about a roof raising delay, Mick spent the next two days smearing any blogger or tweeter who had a following. Mick would troll their accounts and accuse them of spreading fake news. If you're new to social media what happens when a verified journalist does that is this: the blogger or tweeter gets bullied and abused by the verified journalist's vicious followers. Mick and Rick are verified journalists and their followers will support anything they say. This form of bullying and intimidation should not be allowed from verified journalists with a blue check mark.

Mick Akers fake news
Mick Akers uses his verified status as a journalist and public trust to deceive taxpayers and potential season ticket buyers.
Rick Velotta roof delay rumors
Rick Velotta says the heist was a rumor and the roof raising will be completed in six weeks; that was 11 weeks ago and the roof is still not raised.
Mick Akers Fake News
Here, Mick gives everyone a lesson in journalism; he says to investigate the rumors. The contractor said "everything's just fine". Seriously, either Mick is the worst journalist in Vegas or he is in cahoots with Don Webb.
A verified journalist on social media has certain privileges and responsibilities. They have a voice. They should not use their voice to deceive the public and smear bloggers telling the truth.

On the rumors of stolen materials, those were just that, rumors, per Don Webb. What did go missing: some tools, but nothing that would delay the planned July 31 completion. Roof cabling lift scheduled this week. It'll take about six weeks.

— Rick Velotta (@RickVelotta) October 3, 2019

Why is the Roof Raising Schedule So Important?

Picture
According to Rick Velotta and Don Webb, the roof raising is a highly choreographed process. The most critical part of the process is when they attach the final nodes to the roof trusses. There is an enormous amount of pressure required. Because the stadium expands and contracts as the weather changes, the timing of the roof raising is essential. The original plan says that they wanted to raise the roof by October 31st. They should have either lifted the roof trusses on time our waited until after Winter. Because what happened next could have been avoided. Don Webb said, any fluctuations in temperature will delay the roof raising process and they will have to wait. However, when social media reports were rumoring about a delay back in October due to a heist, Don Webb panicked and started raising the roof on October 11th. Rick Velotta couldn't wait to prove the bloggers wrong in a series of tweets. The two of them were basically licking each other's butts to notice that if they started raising the roof in mid October, the roof would not be completed until December when temperature in Las Vegas are historically harsh and unpredictable.

roof raising delays Rick Velotta fake news
The roof suddenly started lifting on or around October 11th. It should take about 6 weeks.
roof raising delays EFTE raiders stadium Las VegasRoof raising is extremely choreographed and has "no room for error". Don Webb compares the process to a 17-acre Swiss watch.
In construction, there is a schedule.  Any changes to the schedule must be signed off by all parties.  In addition to a schedule, there is a master plan that is derived from the construction schedule.  The master plan is less detailed than the schedule.  The master plan contains major milestones. Major milestones are metrics that measure the progress of any major construction project.  On August 6th, 2019, Mick Akers published an article detailing the major milestones and the subsequent dates for completion (see article here). In that piece, Mick wrote that the roof raising was extremely complicated with "no room for error".  He went on to write that Don Webb proclaimed the roof raising process is extremely complicated and compared it to a "17-acre Swiss watch."   This is because of the physics involved in raising the roof using this new technology from France.  The temperatures must be within a certain range or the hydraulics won't work, according to Freyssinet, the company contracted to raise the roof.  Any delay would push the roof raising into Winter. In Las Vegas, Winter can be extremely harsh and historically unpredictable. 

EFTE roof raising delay raiders stadium Rick Velotta wrote that the roof raising would begin in September and be completed by October.
That is why Mick empathized that the roof raising would begin in September and would take 6 weeks to complete, finishing by the end of October.  Rick Velotta confirmed this in a piece he published on August 30th.  You can read Rick's full article here.

By October, the roof raising process had not yet begun. Social media rumors began circulating about a heist at the stadium. The sources said parts, pieces and/or wiring were stolen. Of course, Mick Akers and his online bullies were quick to attack anyone tweeting about a roof raising delay or a heist. Followed-up by Mick's seniors writer, Rick Velotta.
Online Cyber Bullying
An example of one of Mick Aker's trolls attempting to discredit online bloggers.
fake news tweets
A troll called Rayder Nashun says that Vital Vegas has been banned from casinos for spreading fake news. Ironically, this was fake news.
Rick Velotta twitter tweets stadium delay
Rick Velotta often uses his verified status and public trust to squash any concerns about a delay at the Stadium.
Rick wrote that the scheduling of the roof project was essential because the the attachment of the final roof nodes are subject to temperature fluctuations, such as what occurred on October 31st 2019 when temperatures dropped nearly 30 degrees overnight in Las Vegas.
EFTE roof raising delay at raiders stadium
The EFTE roof needed to be raised by October because the expansion and contraction caused by cold winter temperatures in Las Vegas will make the roof impossible to lift, according to Don Webb.
The motivation to print three missed milestone dates is simple. The stadium is being built by funds from the PSLs - Personal Seat Licenses. e.g. When the trusses didn't fit back in May, they needed an additional $130 million to catch up. They could not raise taxes so they took the money from the PSL fund. Any and all overages are taken from the PSL's fund.
The Stadium, like many stadiums today, is funded by the pre-purchase sale of season tickets, or a.k.a. PSLs (Personal Seat Licenses)."
Does $130 million for 20 extra suites sound a little expensive?  You could build an entire hotel with penthouse suites for that price. 
When did Don Webb and the Las Vegas Review-Journal  know that they could not raise the roof as planned?  And when did they know about structural bolts breaking?" 
A timeline shows the events that happened at the Stadium versus the headlines at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The newspaper avoids printing any facts that would discourage buyers from purchasing PSLs. PSL stands for Personal Seat License.  A PSL is the new term for season tickets.  The Stadium, like many stadiums today, is funded by the pre-purchase sale of season tickets, or a.k.a. PSLs (Personal Seat Licenses).
The Stadium, like many stadiums today, is funded by the pre-purchase sale of season tickets, or a.k.a. PSLs (Personal Seat Licenses).  
The bigger issue is: "When did Don Webb and the Las Vegas Review Journal know that the Stadium had faulty bolts and when did they know that they could not raise the roof on schedule?" 

Were they intentionally withholding that information from the season ticket buyers in order to maintain the sale of PSLs?
In 2015, Sheldon Adelson and the Las Vegas Sands (NASDAQ:LVS) purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  
Mick Akers does the daily grunt work for covering the Stadium for the Review-Journal. When social media reports begin bubbling about roof trusses being built upside down, delays due to weather, steel shipments, stolen equipment, roof raising delays or structural bolts breaking, they send in Rick Velotta to write a piece that will acknowledge the delay.  
​But his tone is usually, "Oh sure, a roof truss came down and went back up.  Whats the big deal? That won't delay the opening." or more recently "Yea, yea,  a few structural bolts were breaking. No big deal. It's the same thing that happens when you over tighten screws when building an Ikea bookshelf."

Hard to believe how so much was made out of nothing in that Allegiant Stadium bolt fiasco. I don't know how many times I've overtightened a screw on a home improvement project and broken it. That's what happened here.

— Rick Velotta (@RickVelotta) December 4, 2019

Yes, a truss came down. Now, it's back up. https://t.co/JGv4rIFuTc via @reviewjournal, @mickakers

— Rick Velotta (@RickVelotta) June 18, 2019

Raiders’ exec: Broken bolts at stadium were overtightened, not faulty https://t.co/XIl29Y339H via @reviewjournal

— Rick Velotta (@RickVelotta) December 4, 2019
Rick Velotta and Don Webb blame Local 872 Iron Workers for the structural bolts breaking at the stadium.
#Raiders #AlTheGiantStadium #AllegiantStadium #RoofRaisingDelays #TheDonWebbOfLies
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