Dawn of a new era: Allegiant logo affixed to Raiders’ stadium
The sun rose over Allegiant Stadium on Saturday morning, but this time was a bit more special than usual.
Work crews hoisted the 875-pound sun portion from Allegiant Air’s logo onto the east-facing side of Allegiant stadium, with the “t” following, officially taking the hometown airline’s spot on the $2 billion, 65,000 seat facility.
The sign installation process began Thursday with the first four letters being installed. Allegiant’s name being affixed to the stadium marked the first of a planned 650 signs in and around the structure.
Joe Montoya and his wife made the trek from Southern California — with a Raiders flag flying proudly on their car — to witness the sign installation, after they saw it was occurring on social media.
The Montoyas have made trips to Las Vegas to catch stadium milestones, also visiting the stadium site just after the groundbreaking ceremony and again when the first structural steel began to be installed.
“We saw it on Facebook and we wanted to come and check it out,” said Montoya, a Raiders fan since 1984. “It’s (seeing the sign installed) like wow, amazing. Las Vegas did a good job bringing them (Raiders) over here.”
The Montoyas might soon make visits to the stadium more often, as they’re contemplating moving to Southern Nevada to follow their favorite team.
“We might in three years,” Montoya said. “It’s growing here, the Raiders are going to be here … and there’s no state income tax.”
The “stadium” portion of the Allegiant Stadium sign is set to be installed Sunday, if weather permits. Winds kicked up in the middle of the afternoon Saturday.
Crews also are set to install the Allegiant Stadium logo on the west side of the stadium sometime in the next two weeks, according to sign maker Yesco.
Sign work also is slated to occur soon inside the stadium, as stadium lettering is lined up on the north portion of the facility, where renderings show stadium logos above the lanai doors and Al Davis memorial torch.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
