Alaska Airlines Center Conversion

under construction

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a joint venture of Neeser Construction Inc. and Paug-Vick Development a $1.26 million contract to convert the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage into an alternate care facility for COVID-19 patients. The Alaska Airlines Center is a 5,000-seat, 196,000-sq-ft multipurpose arena owned by the University of Alaska, located adjacent to Providence Alaska Medical Center. The Corps received a mission assignment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on April 6 and subsequent authorization from state partners to erect space for 51 additional hospital beds and associated nursing stations in the arena. If the demand for hospital beds exceeds this construction project, then the FEMA mission assignment is in place to expand up to 160 beds with authorization from the state and area hospitals.