A $2.6-billion stadium taking shape on the outskirts of Los Angeles will transform an old horse track into one of the area’s most eagerly anticipated developments. 
Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park will serve as the new home of the Los Angeles Rams, while the surrounding area will become a small city in itself.
Rotary kiln expanded clay aggregate is being used in 40,000 cubic yards of cast-in-place structural lightweight concrete for the multipurpose venue’s mezzanine level walkways. An equilibrium density of 110 pounds per cubic foot was specified for the concrete-on-metal-deck system. The choice to use ESCS aggregate in the project came from the reduction in dead load to the structure. This saves substantial cost in the structural steel and footings making for an overall more economic design. Also the use of the ESCS material affords a better fire rating and eliminates the need for fireproofing floor deck which is a cost savings.
Because ESCS aggregates are pre-soaked prior to batching, the resulting concrete in the stadium will benefit from internal curing, a process that supplies additional curing water throughout the concrete mixture. That’s why lightweight concrete offers less cracking and reduced shrinkage compared to ordinary concrete.
In addition to the cast-in-place lightweight concrete, expanded clay lightweight aggregate is also being used for the precast, prestressed seating risers that will be used throughout the stadium.
The new stadium will be the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers, and surrounding it will be 3,000 residential units, 700,000 square feet of retail space, 800,000 square feet of commercial buildings, and parking structures. It will be a destination in the city of Inglewood.
Owner: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
Design Architect: HKS Sports & Entertainment Group
Structural Engineer: Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants
General Contractor: Turner/AECOM Hunt JV
Ready Mix Supplier: CalPortland
Precaster: CoreSlab Structures (Perris, CA)
Lightweight Supplier: Arcosa Lightweight (Frazier Park, CA)
Project Location: Inglewood, CA
Owner: Las Vegas Stadium Events Company, LLC (Las Vegas, NV)
Design Architect: MANICA Architecture (Kansas City, London, Hong Kong)
Structural Engineer: ARUP (Los Angeles, CA)
General Contractor: Mortenson McCarthy Joint Venture (Henderson, NV)
Ready Mix Supplier: Precision Aggregates LLC (Mesquite, NV)
Precaster: Western Pacific Precast (Sloan, NV)
Lightweight Supplier: Utelite Corporation (Coalville, UT)
Project Location: 3333 Al Davis Way (Las Vegas, NV)
Project at a Glance: $2,300,000,000, 1.75 million sq. ft., 65,000 seats
In November 2017, ground breaking begun on a 62-acre plot of land just west of the Las Vegas Strip to make way for a $2.3 billion, 1.75 million-square-foot, 65,000-seat (expandable to 72,000), ultra-modern domed stadium for the Raiders NFL Football Team. The Stadium will also serve as the site of the Las Vegas Bowl as well as the Pac-12 Football Championship and other high-profile events beginning in 2020.
Utelite Corporation is playing a key role in assisting with technical support and supplying high quality expanded shale lightweight aggregate material meeting the requirements of ASTM C330 for the stadium’s precast elements along with metal decking cast-in-place structural lightweight concrete.
According to the design engineers, the use of structural lightweight concrete 
was considered and specified early in the design process as the boundaries were pushed of what design and engineering could achieve on this ultra-modern state-of-the-art stadium. Innovative design flexibility, improved seismic structural response, superior performance, greater economy and structural lightweight concrete was the solution. In addition, the joint venture team was also very open-minded and supportive of utilizing structural lightweight concrete to reduce the overall seismic loads of the structure as well as offering a UL 2-hour fire rating.
All factors considered, structural lightweight concrete was the clear choice. Structural lightweight concrete made with rotary-kiln produced expanded shale lightweight aggregates is typically 25% to 35% lighter than normal concrete and provides significant greater economy when systems are designed with equal fire resistance ratings.
“It’s been a total team approach between Utelite, the concrete producer, and the pump company to successfully pour nearly 20,000 cu. yds. of 6,000 PSI @ 28-day structural lightweight concrete on this project with minimal concrete issues on the project. Proper aggregate saturation, stockpile management, and sound quality control procedures are essential to minimize pumping concerns and to insure the structural lightweight concrete mix adhered to the stringent concrete specifications on such a high-profile project,” said Utelite’s Darren Medeiros.
The Allegiant Stadium is slated to be completed for the 2020 NFL football season.
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By Abigail Gabbard | December 13, 2019 | Press release