Allegiant Stadium to feature world’s largest 3D print
With Allegiant Stadium quickly looking like an actual stadium — with the steel frame complete and glass panels installed on much of the exterior — it’s becoming an attraction in its own right.
Once fans get inside the $2 billion, 65,000 fan capacity indoor stadium one feature likely will stand out: the 85-foot tall Al Davis Memorial Torch that will burst through a giant hole of two levels of the stadium and create one of the best hangout spots in the entire facility.
With the frame for the torch, which honors former Raiders owner Al Davis, now in place, the finishing touches are being 3D printed in Kansas. Once complete and in place, the structure will be the largest 3D printed object in the world, according to Las Vegas Stadium Co. Chief Operating Officer Don Webb.
“That will literally be the largest 3D printed object in the world,” Webb said. “Only two printers can do this and we have one back in Kansas City doing this right now.”
The torch’s structure will be comprised of carbon fiber and aluminum, Webb said.
“The reason it’s 3D printed is they can have absolutely flawless geometry to it,” Webb said. “It’s complex geometry, it’s not a cylinder, it’s a swooping kind of thing. It’s a sculpture. In order to have that so it’s absolutely perfect you just can’t manipulate materials by hand without having some imperfections. So that’s why it’s being 3D printed.”
Looking to capitalize on the area where the torch sits, with the massive retractable lanai doors in the backdrop, a circular bar area will surround the torch, Webb said.
The bar will be part of the 55,000 square-foot Peristyle Club, one of nine clubs planned for the stadium, and the only one that will be open to any fan who purchased a ticket for a stadium event, Webb said.
One tradition that won’t be transferred from Oakland to Las Vegas is the pregame tradition at RingCentral Coliseum of having someone light the Al Davis Memorial Torch. The torch from Oakland will be relocated to the Raiders’ Henderson headquarters and practice facility ahead of its opening next spring.
The tradition won’t carry over to Allegiant Stadium because the flame that rises above the torch will not be an actual fire-based flame, Webb said. Although Webb has been mum on what exactly the flame will consist of, he did say it will not be a projection or a hologram.
“You haven’t seen anything like it anyplace else,” Webb said.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.