Loading...Over the years, we’ve run stories of various size and scope, but today’s story is literally bigger than any one we have ever presented. Two thousand, five hundred electricians answered the call. Six electrical contractors managed the work.
And when it was all said and done, they built more than 4,000 hotel rooms, 2,500 condos, 500,000 square feet of retail space, a new convention center, and a new theater. Which if you add it all up, you come up with a sum of more than 18 million square feet in all.
The center of the Las Vegas Strip is where you can find it.
The Strip, as we know it today, was started by mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. His El Rancho casino and hotel was the first one to occupy real estate on the Strip in 1941, although downtown Las Vegas had been up and running for 40 years. But it wasn’t until 1976 when the first mega-resort burst onto the scene to compete with the increasingly popular little brother of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Circus Circus became the biggest resort on the Strip, occupying 5 acres of land, complete with a water park and roller coaster. Both Bugsy’s start and the Circus Circus marked significant moments in time in Vegas’ history book.
Fast forward 35 years, and we’ve arrived at another: Project City Center.
This is an overview of the entire job site: 66 acres. There are 43,560 square feet in one acre. That’s a total footprint of 2,864,960 square feet, and when you when you go up, the total jumps to more than 18,000,000 square feet of construction.
Don Oliver, Project Executive, Fisk Electric
“We knew in the beginning when we first started how immense this project was going to be.”
David R. Jones, Business Manager, IBEW Local 357
“Four thousand hotel rooms, 2,600 condominiums, six towers of high-rise construction, all taking place at one time.”
When you begin to talk about the electrical work, the statistics are just as staggering. Twenty-five hundred electricians worked on this project from design to completion. IBEW members from ll across the country came to Las Vegas to work on this job – a feat only made possible by the nationwide network of highly trained, highly skilled electrical professionals.
Don Oliver, Project Executive, Fisk Electric
“We had individuals from Colorado, New Mexico, California, as far as New York, Florida and Texas. With the IBEW it’s the same – you know what you’re going to get when you hire an IBEW electrician. And we got the best individuals.”
Carole Kilburn, 1st Year Apprentice, IBEW Local 357
“I worked in the yard, convention center, west podium, sub-basement and basement.”
These electricians pulled more than 15,000 miles of wire. That’s enough to go from coast to coast five times. It all adds up to a huge job – one that was though by many that it would never end.
James Murphy, Steward, Rosendin Electric
“It seemed like even at the end, it was going to keep on going. But eventually all good things come to an end. That’s what we do, we build the future. We work ourselves out of a job and go on to the next one.”
Nick Tantlinger, Senior Tech
“You can’t afford to go back and re-do everything. Everything needs to be right. It was a good effort by everyone to help each other out and make sure that things did get done right. No one was scared to ask a question. We just made sure it was done up to the standards that everyone expects from us.”
David R. Jones, Business Manager, IBEW Local 357
“Every job is challenging. But when you have one of that magnitude, to see it all come together is pretty amazing. The customer was very happy.”
When all was said and done, NECA contractors Rosendin Electric and Fisk Electric, along with their craftsmen and women completed the Mandarin Hotel and Spa, the Vdara Hotel and Spa, the Harmon Hotel, the Veer Towers, the Elvis Theater, a new convention center, and the Aria Resort and Casino, all of which were completed on time or ahead of schedule, and to the enjoyment of those who were responsible for their legacy.
Craig Duke, Journeyman, IBEW Local 357
“It got finished safely, and it got finished on time. The amount of construction that was going on at one time, a lot of the time it was like a ballet out there trying to get everything organized together. It all came through, it really went well.”
Mitch Hughes, Las Vegas Division Manager, Rosendin Electric
“What we proved on this job is that we can build a partnership that can be very effective, provide a lot of value to the owner, provide, certainly, world-class construction, on schedule, on time and within budget. The whole experience for our team, for the 357 team that we shared this with, has been extraordinary. Very successful.”
Lee Whipple, Project Manager, Fisk Electric
“It’s a different job. I don’t think anything has been done like this ever before, and I don’t know that there will be anything done like it in the future.”
Mitch Hughes, Las Vegas Division Manager, Rosendin Electric
“I think everybody can walk away, on all sides, and look at what we did here at the end of the day, and feel really, really proud of it.”