The St. Louis Rams are heading to Los Angeles. The San Diego Chargers may be joining them. While that may lead to some temporary overcrowding in the Los Angeles Coliseum for three seasons, the long-term picture sees a fabulous new football venue that could easily become a destination for college football on a regular basis, from neutral site early-season events to the possible relocation or alternating host site for the Pac-12 Championship Game to hosting College Football Playoff national title games. There is much to be excited about the NFL’s move to Los Angeles for college football fans. The same could eventually prove to be the case in Las Vegas, much to UNLV’s delight.
On Thursday reports surfaced about the push by Las Vegas Sands to work out a deal to work with UNLV to build a new “special events stadium” costing up to $1 billion on land owned by the university. UNLV reportedly owns 42 acres of land and that land is being called a “prime location” by Las Vegas Sands Corp., a giant name in the casino business. The company ideally would like to build a 65,000 seat stadium in southern Nevada, which would then be used as a sales pitch to lure the Oakland Raiders to the desert. Like the Rams and Chargers, the Raiders had contemplated a move out of Oakland, but the possible relocation to Los Angeles seemed to fall apart. The door for relocation, however, was not officially shut by the NFL franchise.
Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government relations and community development for Las Vegas Sands, says the stadium project will advance regardless of being able to get a franchise from the NFL.
“We are moving forward with the stadium concept with or without an NFL team,” Abboud said Thursday. “We see a lot more opportunities — conference championships, bowl games, NFL exhibition football, boxing, soccer, neutral site games, and music festivals. There is an entire segment out there.”
You would have to figure one of those segments would include UNLV football, since this would be on UNLV’s property. And that would be fantastic news for the Rebels. Sam Boyd Stadium has had a good run, and UNLV purchased the land with the intent of building a new home for the football program anyway. With a large backer like the Sands picking up the bulk of the tab for the new stadium, that is a pure win for UNLV football.
There are a few things worth noting here that should not be overlooked. Despite what is being said, it is very much a possibility the extent of the plans to build a stadium would be dependent on the NFL voting to allow the Raiders to move to Las Vegas. Given the NFL’s recent history against gambling (see daily sports leagues in New York), it is fair to say moving a franchise into the country’s gambling epicenter would be a long shot. But the NFL is in business for one reason and one reason only, and that is making money without ever really having to pay for it when possible. A commitment to build and fund a stadium project that could cost as much as $1 billion might seem attractive, and it would almost certainly spark interest. If Las Vegas can’t get an NFL team, the plans to build a top-of-the-line stadium probably get filed away for another time down the road.
With or without the NFL, if Las Vegas Sands is committed to building a new stadium for events, then UNLV will benefit as a result.
