Omega Piles for Kings Arena
After rumors of the Sacramento Kings moving to a new city, the decision was finally made that they would remain in Sacramento and build “the world’s greatest arena.” Malcolm was awarded a contract to install the foundation for the new Kings Arena, located less than 10 blocks from the California State Capitol. After the demolition of the existing shopping mall and mass excavation down to 20 feet, heavy rain — which California had not experienced in over 20 years — hit the site and delayed construction. To make up for this loss of time, Malcolm employed two drilling units to install a total of 983 Omega (Drilled Displacement) piles.
A comprehensive test pile program followed, and Malcolm proposed a larger pile diameter to utilize the competent shallow bearing layer and reduce the overall number of piles. A combination of 18- and 24-inch diameter Omega piles was ultimately utilized. Automatic monitoring software was employed to track pile installation parameters and provide as-built data. The project was completed successfully, and all piles were installed in a record time of 2 months over the winter holidays.
