Stegeman Coliseum

Falling concrete that shut down the iconic sports arena required two engineering firms, hundreds of construction workers, and 43 truckloads of scaffolding to make repairs to the vast interior ceiling of the 185-foot-high structure. Cracking and spalling of concrete in the joints between the triangular precast elements that make up the roof of the building was causing chunks of concrete to fall hundreds of feet into the seating areas surrounding Stegeman Coliseum’s court. The engineered repairs were extensive as workers saw-cut concrete beams, repaired spalling concrete, and realigned hundreds of “nodes” where multiple precast joints come together. After those repairs were completed, United added a “high-density polyethylene mesh” protective barrier that will cover the entire ceiling, end-to-end, and prevent concrete spall and flaking from reaching the floor. United completed 1,318 concrete repairs, and 4,867 concrete joint relief cuts, and installed 86,000 sf of protective barrier mesh.