America First Center

Home Ice Advantage: Building America First Center

The Silver Knights, Henderson, Nevada’s American Hockey League team, were in need of a new practice facility. The City of Henderson had contributed $15.15 million toward the nearly $26 million project, but there were still a few problems. First, they needed a dual-rink ice facility – on the edge of the desert, where summer highs have peaked at 119°F. Second, they needed to build it in Clark County, which is known for some of the nation’s most stringent building codes and requirements. This wasn’t going to be a simple job. Henderson needed the best.

Double Hockey Stick

The new facility would be a sister facility and near identical twin to the City National Arena in Summerlin – but with a larger deck above the main seating area, allowing more standing room for more spectators. The contractor had experience constructing several projects with Image Building Systems and brought them on board as builder and erector. Image developed the plans, and bid out the materials side of the project, which was won by Campana Building Consultants. Campana does all of their own engineering and sales, but purchases their products through MBCI.

Faceoff

As Image Building Systems’ Ryan Klosterman explained, “It was pretty easy because they had already done one.” At least it was easy on paper. But the demands of building in Clark County made it trickier. “Clark County has the strictest permitting requirements – pretty much more than any county ever,” said Teresa Lee of Campana Building Consultants. “You have to be Clark County-certified as a manufacturer, which is one of the things that MBCI brought to the table. They were certified to fabricate for Clark County.”

With MBCI being a certified manufacturer for the county, the team had a clear head start, but that wasn’t the only obstacle. “With Clark County, you have to have special inspections throughout the design process, as well as throughout the manufacturing process,” explained Lee. “So, we had to go through special engineering approvals as well as we had to have an inspector go to the plants when the building was being produced.”

Coast to Coast

Unsurprisingly, MBCI passed all of these inspections with flying colors, and the project was able to move forward. In fact, it virtually flew forward. As Lee pointed out, an advantage of working with MBCI is its nationwide plants, which allow expedited delivery schedules. “They’re great manufacturers,” she said. “They’re diverse in their portfolio. They’re located all over the U.S., so it makes shipping really easy.” They were also able save time on the engineering side of the project. “The structural engineer of record doesn’t have to design that whole facility,” said Klosterman. “By having an engineered building system work in concert with the rest of their design, they save time on design and construction.”

In the field, the building was coming together quickly too. “They weren’t even done with the concrete when we started,” said Klosterman. Using MBCI building frames and structural steel, the skeleton was completed faster than expected. Meanwhile, the 72,419 square feet of Double-Lok® was fabricated to spec in 24-gauge Galvalume Plus and delivered to cap off this project with a nearly impenetrable roof. This standing seam, mechanically-fastened roof came with a twenty-year weathertightness warranty, ensuring that any ice or snow that rains down on the players is the result of hockey stops – and not anything coming through the roof. “It’s one of the top ones in the industry from a weathertightness perspective,” said Lee. Double-Lok® is also a Clark County-approved product.

Even though the project site was on the corner of two busy streets in downtown Henderson, the building went up in record time. As Klosterman said, “They looked at us and said, ‘This was supposed to take four months to build. You guys did it in two!’”

Just like that, the Henderson Silver Knights opened a brand-new, 120,000-square-foot hockey practice facility – America First Center – in November of 2020, with two NHL-size sheets of ice: the Vegas Golden Knights rink and the Silver Knights rink – both open for public use. With seats for 350 in each rink, plus an expanded deck above the seating area, the facility can hold even more spectators than its Summerlin sister facility, City National Arena.

Taking the Cup

The Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA) took notice of this shining success too, awarding the project with the 2021 Award of Merit for Education and Recreation as part of their 2021 Building of the Year Awards. “They’re really good-looking buildings,” said Klosterman. “It doesn’t look anything like a metal building. It showcases what a metal building can do. I think for the industry, it’s good to show that. There are so many applications for metal buildings that people don’t think about.”

To discover more unexpected applications of metal buildings and components – or to learn how MBCI’s expertise can expedite your construction, get in touch with an MBCI representative near you.