LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Stadium Authority is considering and almost certainly will approve a $158 million upgrade to the north entrance at Allegiant Stadium, with $75 million coming from a taxpayer fund and the rest from the Las Vegas Raiders.
No action was taken on the agenda item Thursday at the Stadium Authority meeting, but instead a vote could occur Sept. 2.
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.
“Those are not aspirational goals," Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan told the Stadium Authority. “They're based on some educated conversations that our tech and design teams have had.”
Funds would go to the 65,000-seat stadium that opened in 2020 at a cost of $2 billion to add pedestrian and event decks, a plaza and transportation enhancements. The public money will come from surplus room tax revenue.
Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said that while Stadium Authority owns the stadium, the Raiders are responsible for its upkeep.
“We want to make sure the stadium remains a world-class venue,” Hill said. “We want to make sure Allegiant Stadium is well-funded from both a private standpoint as well as a public standpoint.”
Many fans walk over a nearby bridge from the Las Vegas Strip to attend Raiders games and other events. The new entry would create a more direct path to the venue by remaining on an elevated walkway.
“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.”
The stadium was constructed with $750 million in public money, with backers saying it not only would house Raiders games, but also be the home to UNLV football, major sporting events and concerts.
Allegiant Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 2024. This season's college football national championship is set for Allegiant, and the Final Four is scheduled for 2028.
“When the Raiders came to Las Vegas (from Oakland, California), this was never about bringing an NFL team to Nevada,” Douglass Morgan said. “It was a long-term commitment to this community and the state."
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