The sound of roofing

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• Photos courtesy of TruCraft Roofing LLC, Milford, Ohio, and Snappy George Photography, Cincinnati.
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Located on the Ohio River in Newport, Ky., the PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION is the third indoor/outdoor concert venue in the U.S. Modeled after EXPRESS LIVE! in Columbus, Ohio, and Stage AE in Pittsburgh, the pavilion features state-of-the-art lighting, acoustical systems and an innovative reversible, movable stage.

Built in 2020, the $40 million venue is structurally divided into three concert spaces—an indoor music hall, indoor club and outdoor amphitheater. The pavilion accommodates 2,700 people indoors and 7,000 outdoors. Up to 400,000 music fans are expected to attend nearly 180 events annually.

The project’s general contractor, Turner Construction Co., Cincinnati, selected TruCraft Roofing LLC, Milford, Ohio, to install the venue’s TPO roof system, metal wall panels and associated metal accessories.

Safety first

In July 2020, the TruCraft Roofing team began work on the pavilion. Working with a local steel fabricator, John C. Feinauer Welding Inc., Newport, Ky., workers fastened custom, yellow-colored safety posts on the roof’s perimeter with wood planks to use as rails to provide a safe warning-edge system.

“Anytime we had to take anything down from the roof, we would use a full tie-off while working at the roof edges,” says Aaron Presar, project manager and estimator for TruCraft Roofing. “Turner Construction takes great pride in the safety of its job sites, and as its roofing contractor for this and many other jobs, we also pride ourselves in creating a safe environment for all employees.”

The team also worked with American Scaffolding Inc., Cincinnati, to build stair towers for workers to reach all roof areas safely. Working on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique safety challenges.

“COVID-19 was in full swing, and along with a tight job-site location, mobilization was difficult at times,” Presar says. “We had to adhere to some additional safety standards, but we had a clear set of rules to follow while on-site, and with proper coordination with Turner Construction and our crane subcontractor, Maxim Crane Works, we were able to safely load the multiple roof areas throughout the project’s duration.”

Installation

On the pavilion’s roof that is sloped in a wave design, workers mechanically attached two layers of 2.2-inch-thick Versicore MP-H® polyisocyanurate insulation to the steel deck using Versico Insultite fasteners and plates. Insulation board joints were staggered between the layers. Next, team members adhered 45-mil-thick VersiWeld® TPO membrane in gray with Versico CAV-GRIP 3V adhesive. To complete the 24,000-square-foot roof system, the team installed three Bilco® double-leaf smoke hatches.

TruCraft Roofing team members also installed 5,000 square feet of Dimensional Metals Inc. 16-inch horizonal metal wall panels on the music venue and DMI exposed-fastener corrugated WP72 DynaClad® roof panels on two concession stands adjacent the stage. To complete the project, workers installed roof edge flashings, copings and collector boxes throughout the venue.

Standing ovation

In December 2020, the TruCraft Roofing team completed work on the PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION project. Although following strict COVID-19 safety restrictions was time-consuming, the team successfully completed the project on time to meet the owner’s deadline.

“Working on the music venue’s sloped roof was a unique challenge and new experience, but everything laid out well in the end,” Presar says. “It was rewarding to work as a team to help build a venue the community—including our team—will get great use out of. In fact, I saw The Killers there in September. It was a rainy night, but the venue looked great. The venue’s size made the show seem personal no matter where I stood. It was so cool to see our big ‘wave’ roof cover the stage.”

CHRYSTINE ELLE HANUS is Professional Roofing’s associate editor and an NRCA director of communications.

When artists want to relax and unwind before and after performances, they take breaks in the pavilion’s Ovation King Records green room. King Records is the label where James Brown and others recorded songs during the 1950s and 1960s. A mural adorns the walls to honor King Records’ legacies Otis Williams, Philip Paul and Bootsy Collins.

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