Construction on the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium continues despite two on-site workers testing positive for COVID-19, a stadium official told ESPN.
Last Wednesday, stadium construction firm Mortenson-McCarthy announced that a worker had tested positive for COVID-19, joining another worker who had tested positive in March. The company said in a release that the worker who tested positive last week had not been in close contact with other employees because of social distancing protocols at the construction site.
The $1.97 billion stadium remains on schedule and on budget, and is expected to be completed July 31, with an opening event tentatively scheduled for Aug. 16. The NFL season is scheduled to kick off Sept. 10, though the lingering impact of the pandemic has put that starting date in peril.
As reported by ESPN, Nevada governor Steve Sisolak has ordered all non-essential businesses to close, including the state's casinos, through April 30. Sisolak has deemed construction an essential business, and work on the stadium continues.
"In light of the immediate crisis, there is heightened concern regarding worker safety, labor volume and timing of materials shipments," Jeremy Aguero, a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, told ESPN via email. "Mortenson and McCarthy have put worker safety at the forefront of the project since day one; they continue to do so today. Labor volumes remain on track with expectations for this period in the project's development cycle with as many as 2,000 workers on site each day and materials shipment are generally on track. Most materials are stored locally at this point."
