Kia Forum

As seen in Roofing Contractor Magazine

The Kia Forum concert arena located in Inglewood, California is the only arena-sized venue in the country dedicated to music and entertainment. The iconic venue attracts a wide variety of premier events including the biggest names in music and entertainment, award shows, mixed martial arts, boxing and more. Kia Forum was operating under a solid deadline that required them to remove the existing rooftop logo by Spring 2022.

The challenge

Tight timelines and supply shortages combined to create a challenging situation where the venue was at risk for missing its deadline. Given the time constraints and lack of available materials, the 135,000 sq. ft. roof was too large to undergo a complete PVC reroof to remove the logo. CentiMark Corporation, which specializes in Roofing and Flooring installations, stepped in to provide an innovative roofing solution, utilizing GAF coating products. CentiMark’s alternative plan allowed the existing Kia Forum logo to be completely covered, with a new logo applied, thereby satisfying their obligations and providing them with a fresh roof design in a timely manner. This would not have been possible without the coating products carried out by GAF. During the height of the supply shortage, GAF was also a well-stocked manufacturer and was able to supply enough coating products to finish the job.

The solution

The 135,000 square-foot roof deck was power washed first to remove all dirt and debris and to prepare the existing PVC roof for coating application. Then GAF Unisil Primer base was applied over the existing PVC system. It was then topped with the GAF High‑Tensile Acrylic Top Coat in white, completely covering the previous logo ensuring Kia Forum successfully met their deadline. Lastly, GAF Kymax Coating was used to apply the Kia Forum logo to ensure a long lasting, fade resistant, protective rooftop logo.

"We were working against a tight deadline and Kia Forum was obligated to change the roof logo within a short period of time. Operating at the height of the material shortage, no other contractor or manufacturer was able to provide a viable solution to remove the existing rooftop logo,” notes Philip Edwards, Senior Project Manager for CentiMark. “GAF was the only manufacturer that was able to provide a viable solution because of their broad range of coating products. GAF products enabled us to cover the existing rooftop logo within a relatively short period of time and apply a lasting new logo of excellent quality even with subpar weather conditions.”

Weather conditions

The project took place in April and May, a season inundated with water and mist permeating the air, creating less-than-ideal conditions for applying rooftop coatings. To help mitigate the weather issues CentiMark took advantage of good days and maximized work time implementing longer workdays during optimal weather conditions.