‘The Fan’ sees Russell Road and I-15 site as ideal for football stadium

A full (and obvious) disclosure: I’m not an architect or engineer or someone versed in the details of what the Federal Aviation Administration might consider structures too dangerous to impede flight paths.

The wife once secured a permit for a retaining wall, and I remember delivering the guys who built it one or five or 10 cold beverages, which pretty much sums up my experience dabbling in major construction.

It also might explain why that wall stood 5 feet at one end and 3 at the other.

But of the current 31 NFL stadiums (the Jets and Giants share MetLife), I have been to 20, a direct function of the job more than chasing options on a bucket list.

So as those who want to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium in Las Vegas consider what are reported to be five final potential sites, I thought it best to take a drive and rank locations based purely on one criteria: How each might play for an NFL fan, in case Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis received the votes needed to relocate his franchise.

Reports on Saturday said the Bali Hai Golf Club site has emerged as the leader for those at Las Vegas Sands Corp., and that developer Billy Walters is open to a deal on his lease. So maybe that’s it, and the Sands folks have zeroed in on the site they desire most to build the stadium.

But just in case others remain in play, here are some thoughts for those who pay for tickets and jerseys and one or five or 10 cold beverages each Sunday. This isn’t about tax dollars or oversight committees or land acquisition costs or various other government hurdles that must be scaled before an inch of dirt is moved.

This is how a football fan might look at things, which is to say rankings that are about as scientific as a third-grader making a paper clip float.

1. Russell Road and Interstate 15

There isn’t a more impressive sight for a city’s standing as major league than a stadium erected directly off the interstate for out-of-town visitors to witness, which those arriving daily would with this 62-acre site west of Mandalay Bay. It has the size designers are reportedly looking for, and what would seem as painless a level of access in and out of a stadium as anyone could hope from an NFL game or other major sporting event.

When you stand near the piece of land, you can absolutely see a state-of-the-art stadium and enough space for parking and tailgating and other game-day entertainment options. It just looks like the right place.

It is believed there is an option on the land for a train station along a proposed high-speed line from California to Las Vegas, but I’m guessing UNLV might play in a College Football Playoff championship game before the federal government changes course regarding its stance that high-speed trains must be manufactured in the United States, none of which are.

Anyway, there has to be other options for a stop on a train that might never be built, no?

2. Wild Wild West

I originally thought this would top my rankings, but that was before I began imagining the possibilities on a more open Russell Road. But we are still talking more than 100 acres — consider AT&T Stadium, or “Jerry’s World,” in Texas sits on 73 — and those from Red Rock Resorts seemed genuinely interested in striking a deal.

It’s hardly a stretch to believe the owners— Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta — don’t want to be involved at some level (stadium, local ownership) with the luring of an NFL team to Las Vegas. They just sold the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a reported $4 billion. They do well with sports and making money.

It’s also easy to understand that before Saturday’s reports on Bali Hai, most thought this was the leading site. Space is key, and more of it means the potential for incorporating a special tax district of restaurants and retail along the periphery of a stadium.

I’m not sure I would want to be stuck on Tropicana come game day — you have to believe bus routes would be added and perhaps the street widened — but I am of this: Should the Wild Wild West site win out in what apparently now would be an upset, my life’s ambition will suddenly become to own the In-N-Out Burger chain next door.

3. Bali Hai Golf Club

Sorry. I’m not a guy who bets favorites.

One positive here is that a team could actually offer fans a package of game tickets, a picture in front of the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign and for those really wild and crazy folks, a marriage ceremony at the wedding chapel across the street.

The 18-hole course south of Mandalay Bay and its surrounding water features and trees and tropical plants only recently emerged as a finalist, but this is also when we begin talking about potential issues with the FAA. The golf club sits near the end of a runway at McCarran International Airport, and yet reports suggest those issues can be solved.

The view of a stadium along Las Vegas Boulevard South would be impressive and, more and more, golf courses in town are shutting down. In that manner, it makes sense Walters is interested in making a deal as he remains under federal indictment for insider trading.

Maybe this is over. Maybe this is it.

A sure bet?

Things often are with Walters.

4. UNLV, near Thomas & Mack Center

This made more sense a few years ago when plans were for a 40,000-seat open-air stadium.

But while 61 acres is big enough for the proposed domed facility, and there is nothing better for students than an on-campus home in which to support their football program, it sure seems like things would be really cramped, even after the parking structure adjacent to the Mendenhall Center was knocked down. That, and the FAA scrutiny on any facility built over 200 feet tall also comes into serious play here.

I love the idea of UNLV having an on-campus stadium, but can’t at the moment envision it offering the open space those aforementioned sites would.

5. UNLV, Trop 42

There isn’t much to say here, because I get the feeling what was once the leader for a stadium site is now likened to a 16 seed about to play Duke in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the smallest of five finalists, would need serious infrastructure upgrades so that Tropicana Avenue didn’t become Interstate 405 in Los Angeles at rush hour times 10 on game day and, as an A-List member of Southwest Airlines, my loyalties lie with those who allow my bags to fly free.

And that multi-painted bird in the sky has already voiced major issues with this site.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney.