During halftimes and intermissions, it’s a race against the clock to get thousands through Las Vegas Raiders Allegiant Stadium’s 297 restrooms. The multipurpose entertainment venue seats up to 65,000 guests. 

“We engineered every part of that experience, and that goes into touchless technology being able to get people into concessions, restrooms and back into their seats,” says Chris Sotiropulos, vice president stadium operations, for the National Football League’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Before Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020, Zurn fixtures were put to the test. All 1,430 Zurn touchless sensor flush valves and urinals were activated at the same time while water was running in the sinks, simulating game-day usage of the stadium’s restrooms. Since passing the Super Flush test, the fixtures continue to provide fans with perfect timing, stall to sink, on every visit.

Zurn was the single-source provider of water solutions during the stadium’s construction: providing structural support behind the scenes with carrier systems for water closets, lavatories and urinals; drainage systems to reliably handle high traffic, heavy loads, forklifts and cleaning solvents; and fire protection systems and backflow preventers to maintain fire and water safety.

“Allegiant Stadium was built to be here for 30 years, and the products you install in it have to meet that need,” notes Paul Dudzinski, vice president, operations at McCarthy Building Cos., which built the stadium. “The fixtures look great, they’re reliable, and the manufacturer has always met the call on warranty or technical support.”

Laser-Focused on Conservation

Water sustainability is another reason the Raiders chose Zurn. “Water conservation is very important to this organization,” notes Sotiropulos. “In everything we do, we’re very mindful of using additional water. We’re using low-flow, touchless sensor products that make sure we’re not going to use more than what we need.”

In restrooms throughout Allegiant Stadium, water-efficient touchless fixtures save more than 535 million gallons of water annually. That’s enough drinking water to supply 873 schools over an entire school year.

In addition, groundwater dewatering stations redistribute water collected from the stadium’s exterior and send it to planter beds, subsidizing irrigation.

The stadium is devoted to energy optimization. The venue is constantly finding ways to improve energy efficiency with a state-of-the-art chiller plant, air-handling units, high-efficiency lighting and an energy-efficient lighting control system.

An office rechargeable battery program mitigates the need for single-use batteries, thus reducing hazardous waste and purchasing cleaning products in bulk to reduce single-use plastics when possible. 

Allegiant Stadium is the first U.S. stadium to divert cigarette waste and convert it into energy. The fibers in cigarette waste can be broken down to provide thermal combustion. In taking this extended step in proper cigarette waste collection to prevent the release of toxic substances, the stadium is improving landfill diversion, fire prevention, water improvements and overall community health.

The stadium’s staff also helps out in the community to encourage eco-friendly activities. Allegiant partners with local, sustainably centered nonprofits, donating excess food from stadium concession vendors to individuals and families at risk of hunger and electronic waste to the blind and visually impaired community for usage or resale.

Staff members planted 300 native trees at the Las Vegas Wash, a man-made wetland area that carries the city’s 150 million gallons-a-day-runoff water to Lake Mead. These trees aid in erosion prevention and habitat restoration. 

In honor of America Recycles Day 2021, the stadium held a “Get Caught Recycling” event for guests during a Las Vegas Raiders game. The event successfully promoted guest awareness of the stadium’s diversion program and educated guests on the importance of landfill diversion and recycling. Guests placing aluminum cans or plastic bottles in proper receptacles were rewarded with team and stadium merchandise gift bags.

“Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world and the stadium is no different,” Dudzinski notes. “It is here for shows and concerts as well as Raiders games. From the beginning, every detail was set around the comfort of the fans” — and fostering sustainability efforts across the greater Las Vegas community. 

By Zurn Elkay Water Solutions