• Commencing Friday, February 18, 2005, the center portion of the Arizona Cardinals Stadium roof with two retractable panels will be lifted into place.
• The roof portion being lifted covers a total of 100,000 SF with two retractable panels which when parted in the center create a 240' X 360' opening. The total lift will weigh approximately 5,500 TONS. That is 11 MILLION POUNDS or roughly the weight of 14 Boeing 747 airplanes. This is the heaviest lift of a stadium roof at one time in North America.
• The firm contracted to perform the lift is Mammoet, an international company specializing in heavy lifting and transport. The lift is accomplished with eight strand-lifting units capable of hoisting 990 tons each. The total capacity of the lifting system is 7,920 tons. These lifting units use hydraulic pressure to grip and lift cables in a maximum of 18" strokes. During each stroke, the hydraulic pressure and the position of the wedges which grip the cables are constantly monitored by computers and indicators mounted throughout the system. The roof will be lifted about 120' to a final bearing of about 156' above the stadium floor.
• The roof is set on two giant Brunel trusses, each 87' tall and 700' long. The corner of each Brunel truss is set into a channel on each of four Super Columns specifically engineered and designed to perform this lift. Each Super Column is 173' tall, 17 ½' wide and 12' deep.
2005 Tentative Schedule
Note: This is a tentative schedule and is subject to change based on weather and other variables
2/18/2005 Ironworkers disconnect the trusses from their support posts on which they have been resting during construction. Support cables are disconnected and the lift team raises the roof an initial 18" to 24". The roof assembly settles overnight.
2/19/2005 Engineers begin the carefully controlled ascent of the roof at approximately 9 a.m. There are frequent stopping points during the day as inspection teams review the progress. The entire process may take seven to nine hours.
2/20/2005 Ironworkers install the transfer girders in the notches at the top of the Super columns. The roof is lowered 18" to 24" coming to rest on the transfer girders.
2/21/2005 Lift Contingency Day
March 2005 Work begins to complete closure of the roof. The Brunel trusses support the retractable roof panels and a mix of structural steel, decking, rubberized roofing and a waterproof fabric surrounds the retractable panels.
July 2005 Roof construction completes.
August 2006 Opening Day
Cardinals Stadium Project Team includes:
Owner: Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
Tenants: Arizona Cardinals NFL,
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl XLII in February 2008
Design Builder: Hunt Construction Group, Inc.
Architects: HOK S V E in collaboration with Eisenman Architects
Roof Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore
Stadium Structural Engineer: TLCP Structural
Roof Steel Fabricator and Erector: Schuff Steel Company
Roof Mechanization Contractor: Uni-Systems
Other Interesting Tidbits:
• 4 Jacking frames
• 8 Jacks (2 per Super Column)
• 432 strand cables (54 per jack)
• Each strand is approx. 145' long. Placed end to end, they would stretch 12 miles or approx. 176 football fields
• The capacity of the jacking assembly could lift the Eiffel Tower
• The roof lift weight is equivalent to lifting 34,000 Cardinals linemen
