Allegiant Stadium turns 5: Has the $2B facility met expectations?

It’s been a game changer for Las Vegas.

As Allegiant Stadium marks its first half-decade of existence, observers and stakeholders said the venue has surpassed the lofty expectations set by officials in the years before construction on the $2 billion stadium began.

Through March, according to the latest Las Vegas Stadium Authority activity report, 5.8 million people have attended events at the stadium just west of Interstate 15 and north of Russell Road. Given that Allegiant has hosted multiple major events since March, stadium authority chairman Steve Hill said it’s safe to say that over 6 million fans have been through its gates since it opened.

Officially touted as substantially completed on July 31, 2020, the home of the Raiders and UNLV football has proven to be a bigger hit than ever imagined when the concept for the facility was first discussed, in 2015 according to those involved in making the stadium a reality.

“As we celebrate five incredible years of Allegiant Stadium, I couldn’t be prouder of what this landmark has come to represent — not only for the Las Vegas Raiders, but for our entire community, our global fans, and the partners who believed in our vision,” Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan said.

Room tax performance

The Raiders landed $750 million in public money that went toward the construction of Allegiant Stadium, which is being repaid to Clark County through a 0.88 percent room tax on hotel rooms in Clark County that will be in place through 2048, the year the final bond payment from the county is due.

Between March 2017, when the tax was first implemented, through May of this year, the stadium room tax has generated $411.1 million in revenue, according to Las Vegas Stadium Authority data. That is about 6 percent above budgeted amounts.

“I think even some of the biggest skeptics of Allegiant Stadium and the role that the state and county played in the funding have come around to understand the value that it’s played in this community,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft.

Attendance breakdown

What is bringing fans to Allegiant Stadium?

NFL games, which include Raiders games and Super Bowl 58 in 2024, have brought about 2.3 million fans to the stadium. Concerts have drawn 1.6 million people, according to stadium authority data. Other ticketed events, such as one-off sporting events, have seen 1.2 million attendees. UNLV football games have brought out 422,374 fans while private events have accounted for 335,402 attendees.

Out-of-towners

Some of the success of the room tax can be attributed to Allegiant Stadium drawing more fans and show attendees from out of the state than was originally estimated, according to Hill.

Initial estimates was that the stadium would draw 450,000 annual incremental visitors, or visitors who make a trip to Las Vegas just for an event at Allegiant. So far, that number has been nearly doubled, Hill said.

“You know, we thought it was worth it (public funding) at 450,000 (incremental visitors per year),” Hill said. “We’re typically between 750,000 and 800,000 now. It’s been a tremendous investment.”

For larger events, the stadium authority tracks the percentage of event attendees who are from out of town.

Last year, the 10 Raiders home games (preseason and regular season) drew 597,009 fans; 63 percent were from outside of Las Vegas, stadium authority data showed.

Other major events within the last year have seen an even larger percentage out-of-state event attendees. September’s Vegas Kickoff Classic college football game saw 58,428 fans, with 86 percent from out of state. In August, 103,716 people attended two concerts by country music star Morgan Wallen, with 77 percent from out of state. The country music legend George Strait drew 48,101 fans in December, with 89 percent from out of state. And March’s National Rugby League matches had an attendance of 38,107, with 78 percent from out of state.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that it’s surpassed it (expectations), but it’s surpassed it in ways that I think were somewhat unexpected,” said Jeremy Aguero, principal with Las Vegas-based financial consulting firm Applied Analysis, who served as stadium authority staff during the building of Allegiant Stadium. “But certainly the percentage of people that are in the facility coming from out of town was higher than expected.”

A draw for the city

From the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft, two NFL Pro Bowls and even the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, to major touring acts such as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Korean pop sensations BTS, the list of events that have occurred directly or indirectly due to Allegiant Stadium’s impact is lengthy, Hill said.

During early stadium authority meetings, the Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee highlighted the expected events that could be held at the stadium. Those included the Super Bowl, WrestleMania, College football championship games and the men’s NCAA Final Four. Within the first five years of Allegiant Stadium’s existence, all of those events have either already occurred or are scheduled to happen by the end of the decade.

“There was a lot of confidence that if you built a great facility in this city, that the biggest events in the country would want to be here,” Hill said.

Raiders benefit

The Raiders have benefited, as well.

Before their relocation to Las Vegas, the Raiders in 2015 ranked as the second-least valuable franchise in the NFL at $1.4 billion. Fast forward to 2024 and the Raiders were the seventh most-valuable team, with an estimated value of $6.7 billion, according to Forbes’ annual NFL team valuation list.

Senate Bill 1 created safeguards and requirements that the Raiders must meet, which, in part, validated the $750 million in public funding provided to the project. The Raiders have a robust community outreach program in Las Vegas, as set forth by Senate Bill 1, the public funding mechanism for the stadium’s construction.

Each year the Raiders take part in events at schools, nonprofit organizations and other locations, with the Silver and Black participating in 87 community relations events last year. The Raiders Foundation donated $1.5 million benefiting 84 schools in 2024. This year’s Silver and Black Gala held at Allegiant Stadium saw $3 million raised that will go toward youth mental health initiatives.

UNLV effect

Part of the deal of building Allegiant Stadium and securing public funding for a portion of its cost was to provide a new home for UNLV football, as the Rebels looked to move on from the aging Sam Boyd Stadium. With little success on the field historically for the Rebels, having a new NFL-level stadium to go along with the on-campus Fertitta Football Center training facility, the university hoped the program’s status in college football could improve along with the new facilities.

It took a few seasons, but UNLV began to see the program shift dramatically, leading to historic seasons in 2023 and 2024.

UNLV made a bowl game during both of those seasons, marking the first time the Rebels had done that in consecutive years in the school’s history. During the 2024 season, UNLV was ranked nationally for the first time in school history and was one win away from making the College Football playoffs, a possibility most would’ve laughed at if it were mentioned as a possibility a mere five years ago.

“It’s been fantastic. No one in college football can say they play in a $2 billion stadium every home football game,” UNLV Athletic Director Erick Harper said. “So, we have those bragging rights.”

After Barry Odom, the coach that led UNLV to those new heights, leaving the program in December to take over Purdue’s football program, UNLV made a flashy hire to replace him in Dan Mullen. The former head coach of the University of Florida’s football team and most recently an ESPN college football analyst was expected to continue the success Odom began.

Bringing in football recruits to catch games at Allegiant has proven to be useful in landing quality talent, not only with recruiting with the football team, but also in luring recruits to UNLV in other sports, Harper said.

“They see the energy of our fan base and they get excited,” Harper said.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.