Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Reflecting the sense of speed and luxury of supercars such as Maserati and Ferrari, David Manica’s Allegiant Stadium which has hosted the 58th Super Bowl game is cladded in black glass, with white neon ribbon lighting running across the façade with a capacity of 65,000 spectators.

Tinted glass has functional upsides, too, reducing solar heat gain by absorbing the sun’s rays before they reach the interior.

This multipurpose venue is fully enclosed and climate-controlled.

The stadium features a horseshoe-shaped seating arrangement that is open to create a 200+ foot-wide, column-free, panoramic view of the iconic Las Vegas strip. The centerpiece of the space is a signature tower, now the tallest 3D-printed structure in the world.

At the center of the open club end is a tower of approximately 120 feet that will house a “flaming cauldron” in Al Davis’s honor.

The 62-acre site, located adjacent to the Strip, accommodates the state-of-the-art stadium, on-site parking, tailgating amenities, and pre-game activation areas.

Its location near the freeway and the airport allows for easy access and adequate surrounding parking.

Other distinctive features include a 19 million pound retractable natural turf field tray which passes through the 200 foot-wide column-free zone below several fully-loaded concourse levels to reach its growing position on non-gamedays.

A hi-tech cable net and ETFE roofing system allow natural light to fill the venue, providing a comfortable and uplifting viewing environment and a compact volume of space for a memorable, high-energy guest experience.

For the new Raiders facility, Davis wanted both a grass field and a stadium roof. Those features don’t play together well: Grass can’t grow in a dome.

So the architects have designed a field that can be removed when it’s not in use.

“The field slides out of the building on one gigantic tray and parks on the south end of the building outside to grow,” David Manica says.

At the opposite end of the field, Allegiant boasts a stadium amenity that you’ll only find in Vegas: a nightclub that opens out onto the end zone.

The banquettes of Wynn Field Club are built so close to the action that you could imagine a cocktail waiter getting called for interference.

During the Super Bowl, bottle service at the end zone will set fans back a reported $1 million per table.

The stadium also features a massive sculpture in the shape of a torch, that, according to Manica is the largest 3D-printed object in the world.

It has a lighting element on the top so it can be “lit” before the games to honor long-time coach and owner of the Raiders, Al Davis.

Allegiant Stadium is LEED Certified and powered by local renewable energy sources. Community and local business inclusion were emphasized through all phases of design and construction.

The stadium exceeded all small and diverse business goals, with 23% awarded to small businesses, with a workforce that was 62% minority and female, and 70% Nevada-based businesses involved.

Project: Allegiant Stadium
Architects: Manica Architecture
Lead Architect: David Manica
Client: Las Vegas Raiders
Photographers: Jason O’Rear