Allegiant Stadium

Lore & Background

Allegiant Stadium is located on about 62 acres of land west of Mandalay Bay at Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue, between Polaris Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, just west of Interstate 15. At $1.9 billion, it is among the most expensive stadiums in the world. Construction of the stadium began on November 13, 2017. Allegiant Stadium is indoors with a translucent roof made of ETFE, allowing for climate control and natural sunlight. The stadium has been nicknamed the 'Death Star' in reference to the Star Wars franchise.

Reader's Guide

Allegiant Stadium is a ten-level domed stadium featuring an ETFE roof, silver and black exterior with light-up strips installed by YESCO, a 275 ft media mesh video screen facing Interstate 15, and large retractable curtain-like side windows facing the Las Vegas Strip. The north endzone area in front of the retractable windows contains the Al Davis memorial torch, a large 85 ft torch that houses a flame in honor of Al Davis, the late longtime owner of the Raiders.

In 2019, the torch was reported to be the largest 3D printed object in the world. Las Vegas-based artist Michael Godard was commissioned by the Raiders to oversee the planning and execution of the artwork displayed at the stadium. The stadium has a roll-in natural Bermuda grass field similar to the one at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which is primarily used for NFL games. The main advantages of such a configuration are that it allows the natural playing surface to be exposed to natural sunlight when not in use and allows other events to be held at the facility without any risk of damage to the grass.

Unlike the Arizona facility, Allegiant Stadium also has an artificial turf field, which is primarily used for college football games. This design was chosen because UNLV prefers to play on an artificial turf surface, and also due to concerns that use of the grass field by two teams would cause excessive wear to the playing surface. The artificial turf is placed directly on the stadium's concrete floor, and is rolled up and stored under the stadium when the tray is rolled in.

There are 2,700 parking spots surrounding the stadium and 6,000 in proximity to it. More than 35,000 parking spaces are located within a mile of Allegiant Stadium.