Las Vegas will have a professional football team in 2020. The Oakland Raiders will become the Las Vegas Raiders with a new stadium being built very close to the Las Vegas Strip.
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Las Vegas Professional Sports on the Rise
Sin City is no stranger to Professional Sports. We have the Las Vegas Golden Knights that have T-Mobile arena which is nestled up near New York, New York and is within walking distance with the other hotels in the area. Las Vegas Aces Women’s pro basketball team play their games in the Mandalay Bay Convention area. So far this works for those teams currently with a home.
The Raiders Stadium, now allegiant stadium, on the other hand, has a lot of logistical issues to work out now until they open in July 2020. For starters, the Las Vegas Raiders Stadium, now called allegiant stadium, has bought into naming rights of the stadium at a cost of 26 million per year.
On and Off-Ramps to Allegiant Stadium
The Stadium is right behind the Las Vegas Strip and I-15 hardly any on and off-ramps the lead to the stadium itself. Russel Road has only one if your traveling Northbound to the exit ramp. Hardly will accommodate the traffic coming in from other surrounding states.
Parking at Allegiant Stadium is a Challenge
Most parking will be 2 to 4 miles out away from the stadium and will host a new set of problems with shuttling in and out on games day.
If you’re staying in a hotel on the strip you can get shuttled to Mandalay Bay or Luxor and walk across Hacienda Ave to the stadium. Or take an Uber or Lyft directly to the stadium.
Caution: expect long wait times due to traffic in and out of the Stadium. Leave early to the stadium and get picked up away from the stadium at Delano or Mandalay Bay for easy in and out.
Allegiant Stadium on Site Review
Safety will be the biggest concern with large crowds on game day. With a Stadium that is on a small plot of land and traffic issues, this will be a tough job for Metro Police here in Las Vegas. Safety at any event at the new stadium is a serious task that needs to be addressed and planned out for the kind of crowds that it will attract.
Fear not, Las Vegas is no stranger to large events that draw thousands to Las Vegas for concerts, rodeos, auto racing, and peak season vacationers. They’ve handled these kinds of crowds before and will most likely have a plan for the Raiders Stadium come game day.
No Tailgating at Allegiant Stadium Site
The Raider Nation fans will not like that there will be no tailgating on site. This is a major concern for most fans that love to travel by recreational vehicle and set up and grill hot dogs and hamburgers and enjoy a day with like-minded party travelers. Well, it’s not happening here in Las Vegas. It seems that there may be an off-site location for tailgating away from the stadium on some dusty trail 2 to 4 miles out from where the action will be. Sorry to all you super fans this will be a drag if you’re coming for a cool tailgating experience.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders First Tailgating at Stadium (video)
Off-Site Parking will Rule
WTF comes to mind with this announcement made early on during the construction of the stadium. Off-site parking will most likely be a nightmare for anyone that is traveling in for a game or event. The question is, can shuttling people in from 2 to 4 miles out be efficient and will surrounding traffic on other roads be to congested to get people to the stadium at a reasonable time frame? We will see soon enough as the first few games will determine if this will be a viable solution to carting people to the stadium on very busy roads that may need to be rerouted to get people to and from the off-site parking areas.
Final Thoughts about Allegiant Stadium
In all, I think that the stadium is a nice addition to professional sports here in Las Vegas. Football will have a huge impact on businesses and traffic to the Las Vegas area. If done right, Las Vegas will be a 24-hour city with sporting events that are played in every season. We can only hope that it impacts the residents that live here with good-paying jobs and opportunities that keep this city moving forward. If the pay of these new businesses does not match the economic inflation of higher taxes and ancillary fees, I can only see a downward turn of residents leaving Las Vegas for greener pastures elsewhere.
