Columnist Ron Kantowski: Unfinished business at stadium

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 12:33 p.m.

Ron Kantowski is Las Vegas Sun sports editor. Reach him at 259-4088 or by e-mail, ron@lasvegassun.com. Regular columnist Dean Juipe has the day off.

At this point, it's hard to tell what's going to be more dust covered when UNLV opens its home football season Sept. 18 against Iowa State -- the Rebels' running game or the luxury suites in the new press box tower at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Charlie Cavagnaro, UNLV's nearly invisible athletic director, materialized this week to say that the press box and luxury suite amenities -- such as carpet and ceiling tiles -- might not be in place until the third of five home games. Let's hope that when they were choosing sides for football, Charlie was picked by the Pessimists.

Stadium director Pat Christenson, on the other hand, still thinks there is a chance that the Dustbusters won't be needed on opening night. But Christenson is the captain of the Optimists. The man doesn't have a negative bone in his body, now that the Las Vegas Thunder has gone dark, terminating its lease of the Thomas & Mack Center.

When contacted on Thursday, the background noise over his cell phone made it sound as if Christenson had joined the construction crew himself. In reality, he was speaking from his daughter's 7th birthday party, which made the rat-a-tat-tat of the jackhammers out at the stadium sound like a concerto.

With 29 days remaining before the home opener, there's still plenty of time for rat-a-tat-tatting. And Christenson said that if the contractor is willing to add some additional men and work around the clock, it equates to about 90 work days between now and the time the Cyclones blow into town.

Heck, you can pay off a loan on a Geo Tracker in 90 days. So just imagine what a bunch of guys in hard hats and tool belts can accomplish.

I remember going out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway 48 hours before it was to open in 1996, and thinking there was no way it would be ready to host so much as a tricycle race. When I left the track on Friday afternoon, many of the restrooms behind the main concourse were only half built. The rest were a pile of cinder blocks.

But in came the portable generators and extra men. Up went the restrooms. And out went the port-a-potties. By Sunday, the track (if not the traffic flow) was more than functional.

"The stadium for football will be done," Christenson said, sounding as confident as John Elway in the huddle with 1:57 remaining on the scoreboard clock. "The concession (areas), concourse, (new) grass (field), scoreboard ... the only thing that is a question is the press box and VIP box amenities ... the finishing touches. Both will be occupiable."

The priority, said Christenson, is to make sure the ticket-buying public is comfortable when the Rebels tee it up for the first time at home under John Robinson. Good call.

If the press area isn't finished, no big deal. That's me speaking, not Christenson. A picnic bench and some leg room would be a marked improvement over the former press box, which should have come with a key and soda crackers. It was a virtual sardine can.

The bluebloods who bought the VIP boxes at $45,000 a copy certainly are the bigger concern -- after all, they are the ones who are helping to justify the $18 million stadium refurbishment. Christenson said each of the rich guys has been notified by mail that some of those boxes may be lacking their tops on game night.

But that's figuratively, not literally.