Allegiant Stadium

Changing the original foundation concept for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

The Allegiant Stadium, home to the Las Vegas Raiders, was initially designed using drilled shafts, much like the foundations beneath many high-rise buildings in the city. Drilled shafts have been the preferred choice for supporting highly loaded structures in the Las Vegas Valley due to its variable soil conditions and multiple, inconsistent “caliche” lenses, ranging from a few inches to several feet in strength, from 1,000 to 15,000 psi.

Due to cost and schedule considerations on this fast-track project, the Mortenson-McCarthy JV inquired about an alternate deep foundation system. Malcolm Drilling proposed an alternative approach, replacing all 24-inch drilled shafts with 24-inch CFA Piles, also known as Auger Cast Piles, resulting in substantial cost and schedule savings. Although CFA Piles were not a typical foundation system used in the Las Vegas Valley at that time due to complex soil conditions, Malcolm was confident that, with their powerful equipment and adequate tooling, CFA piles could indeed be a viable option and benefit the project.

After a successful load test pile program and confirmation that the aggressive schedule could be met, Malcolm Drilling was awarded the installation of 1,650 piles and completed the installation in just over two months. Sport event venues typically have not only aggressive construction schedules but also parallel ongoing design efforts, complicating the foundation installation. Malcolm Drilling personnel had to work very closely with the on-site design team to ensure all piles were installed according to the latest design iteration.

Malcolm Drilling