LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved $75 million in public funds Wednesday toward a $158 million upgrade to ease the path into the north entrance at Allegiant Stadium.
The Las Vegas Raiders will pay for the rest of the project at the 65,000-seat stadium, which opened in 2020 at a cost of $2 billion.
“Allegiant Stadium is a critical community asset,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “It is driving tourism right now more than ever at a time we need to drive tourism. We all know that the tourism drives the economy. Keeping that stadium at its current level is a high priority for all of us. It is the requirement and the law, but it’s very important for our community.”
Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan attended the Stadium Authority meeting, but did not address the board. She also did not speak to The Associated Press afterward.
However, at the Aug. 20 Stadium Authority meeting, Douglass Morgan noted to the board the importance of improving access to the venue’s north side.
“The north side of the building has become one of the more pressure points in the guest experience,” Douglass Morgan said. “That infrastructure is stretched to capacity.”
Many fans walk over a nearby bridge from the Las Vegas Strip to attend Raiders games and other events. The new entry will create a more direct path to the venue by remaining on an elevated walkway.
Construction isn’t expected to begin until after the Raiders’ season ends with the goal of it being completed in late 2028 or sometime before the 2029 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
Funds would go toward adding pedestrian and event decks, a plaza and transportation enhancements. The public money will come from surplus room tax revenue.
The stadium was built with $750 million in public money. Hill said the extra revenue could not simply go into paying down the room tax and bonds that fund the stadium for legal and technical reasons.
“The Raiders now have the majority of cost-sharing in this project,” Hill said. “The Raiders will be responsible for the maintenance of that, and it frankly protects the $750 million public investment that has already been made. I think our responsibility is to make sure this commitment would leave the Stadium Authority in a solid financial position.”
The stadium hosts more than just Raiders games. Allegiant also is home to UNLV football, other sporting events and major concerts.
Allegiant Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 2024. This season’s college football national championship game will be played there, and the Final Four is scheduled for 2028.
Hill said that with the arrival of five new stadiums nationwide over the coming years, Allegiant needs to keep up with its potential competition. A new venue has opened in Buffalo, New York, and others are coming or expected to be built in the Chicago area, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Nashville, Tennessee.
“They are going to look to compete for events we have been very fortunate to have here,” Hill said. “While there is room for them to do some things and us to do some things, it will provide more options for those events.”
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