Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas over halfway complete

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which is usually spot on about such things, the new Raiders stadium on the Strip is still on schedule to open prior to the beginning of the 2020 NFL season.

Mick Akers, also of the Review-Journal, provided some aerial shots of the stadium’s progress today.

If you’ve been following the stadium’s progress on Youtube like I have, you know the last of the main trusses were fitted together in the last week or so. The recent earthquakes had little effect on the stadium project, but a few issues with the truss fittings did cause a small delay. The first part of building a stadium always takes the longest and is the most difficult due to digging the foundation and putting up the steel frame, but the later parts of construction are far easier.

Raider fans who don’t normally frequent Las Vegas will get their chance to see the building up close when the NFL Draft is held in Sin City next April. The stadium is on schedule to be fully enclosed by then and presumably the remaining work will be done on the inside of the facility at that time.

The Draft will not be held at the stadium itself, but most likely just down the street at Caesar’s Palace’s new conference center or perhaps the Bellagio. Yours truly, the Great Raiderdamus, plans to be there just as I was for this year’s Draft in Nashville.

Barring any unforeseen delays or issues, it seems as though the Raiders will be well and truly the Las Vegas Raiders next season and the possible 2020 lease of the Oakland Coliseum will be rendered unnecessary.