USA: New Highmark is taking shape - construction update

01.05.2024 10:55 source: StadiumDB.com; author: Jakub Ducki

New Highmark Stadium construction started less than a year ago and already something has started to grow out of the ground. Hundreds of workers, heavy equipment and the results have started to show! The arena in the western part of New York State has passed the first stage of construction work and no one plans to stop! Have deadlines been met and what has already been completed?

Steel and concrete

I went on vacation and came back and was like, ‘Holy cow. We’re up on the second level here, said Steve Ranalli, president of the Erie County Stadium Corp., the state entity overseeing the project. By mid-April 2024, around 1,000 metal parts had been installed, but around 20,000 pieces of steel will be needed to finish the first two stages of construction. In total, around 25 000 tonnes of metal will be needed to complete the entire project, which will cover levels three to five.

According to the plans, some of the steel is produced close to the site of the project. 60% of the metal that will be used in the 62,000-seat stadium project will be created in New York State, and almost all of the steel will come from the United States.

The concrete for the foundations is about 90% complete. New utilities have also been installed around the stadium. One of the arena's ramps will soon be filled with cement to finish the foundations in the south-east corner of New Highmark Stadium. Prefabricated concrete stairs will be placed around the bowl.

Is construction progressing as expected?

In February 2024, steel began to be placed on the lower levels of the crater, which is the foundation of the stadium, and in April metal can already be seen 15 metres above ground zero. State officials have said they expect work on the second phase to start at the beginning of the quarter, so at this point all construction is working to schedule.

According to Paul Gianadda, the manager of the entire project, the most important thing is to be consistent and not be complacent. Despite his cool-headed assessment of the situation, a completely different view is taken by Steve Renalli, who finds it exciting to come on site every day and see the progress being made quickly.

April 2024-What's being built?

Most of the work involves the second level near the north entrance to the stadium, but that is not all. Utility work is being carried out within the arena. There are 6 cranes working on site at the same time, 4 are outside the stadium and 2 are located in the crater. The height of the tallest of the cranes is as high as 105 metres.

On the eastern side of the construction site, plywood is being laid to help show workers where the connections between levels are. On the southern side, the technology centre is also already under construction, as the deadline for the building is a year tighter to be able to test the technology inside as soon as possible.

As of April 2024, around 400 people are working on site. This is a slight increase compared to previous weeks, but in the coming months, the number of stadium builders can be expected to increase significantly to as many as 1,000. The estimated peak of the workforce will bend around 1,500, with workers from other trades such as electrical and masonry also included.

Earlier this month, 84 local companies were contracted to work on the billion-dollar project, and more than half of them are already working on site. New York State and Erie County, as the entities that put up a total of $850 million, are monitoring the progress of the construction as well as whether individual companies are doing the contracted work.

The official groundbreaking ceremony for New Highmark Stadium took place on June 5, 2023, with the facility scheduled to be ready in July 2026. The arena will be used by the NFL club Buffalo Bills.