Vegas' Practice Facility Construction Progresses

The roof, the roof, the roof is on….
Well, the roof of the Golden Knights' future practice facility isn't on fire. Heck, the building doesn't even yet have a roof.
Although after weeks of diligent work, the building's roof is now almostcompleted, which will be the construction process' next important milestone.
"We're right around 2/3 done with the roof," senior vice president Murray Craven said. "If it doesn't get windy, we think we'll be really close to finishing by Saturday.
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"We're actually going to have a celebration, hopefully on the (April) 21st. A 'topping out' party. As soon as we get the last piece of steel up, we're going to have a little party."
For those unaware of what a 'topping out' party entails, it'll just be the construction crew's abbreviated celebration of their project reaching its next stage And despite what its name seems to allude to, Craven said he will not be staging this party up on the practice facility's finished roof.
"Hopefully nobody ever has to go up there again," Craven said with a laugh. "Not on this roof."
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No, the construction crew won't be staging any parties on the practice facility's soon-to-be finished roof.

Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't even have time. With the hope of finishing the building for this fall's NHL training camp, Craven's crew will quickly turn their attention to the next objective: ICE!
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After the landmark installation of the buildings ECO-CHILL system (ice plant) in late March, the next order of business in construction will be laying down piping and making both rinks in the 146,000 square foot arena ready maintain ice.
"We're going to start the ice rinks next week," Craven said. "We're going to start putting the piping down. It's ready to go. That's going to be the miles of pipes for the ice plant. That'll be a big step. It'll be nice when we get that pad in place."
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From there, it'll be business as usual for Craven, which entails early mornings and late nights to have this project prepared to host NHL players next season.

Although the Golden Knights' practice facility will not only host NHL players.
As of April 4, when the franchise officially partnered with Nevada Storm youth hockey, it will also house the rebranded "Vegas Junior Golden Knights" youth hockey programs starting next season.
This is in addition to UNLV's hockey team, adult programs and an assortment of in-house youth leagues.
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"We have a long-term commitment to growing the sport of hockey in our community, especially at the youth level," Craven said. "The Nevada Storm organization has done an incredible job in the youth hockey space and we believe this strategic partnership will help take youth hockey in Southern Nevada to new heights in terms of participation, interest and quality.
"We hope kids in Las Vegas will be proud to share the same Vegas Golden Knights name, colors and logos as our NHL players."