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.  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 The 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 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.
Why is the Roof Raising Schedule So Important?
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.
The roof suddenly started lifting on or around October 11th. It should take about 6 weeks.
 Roof 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.
 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.
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.
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.
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.
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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AuthorJediRich is the unofficial Las Vegas Raiders street photographer. 
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