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A look inside Allegiant Stadium for a UNLV football game day. It’s a new day for the college program.
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Desiree Reed-Francois, UNLV’s director of athletics, frequently talks about striving to make the college experience memorable for the university’s student-athletes. The game day experience at new Allegiant Stadium should now meet that expectation.
The football program will go from having one of the worst home-field situations in the nation—the outdated, remote Sam Boyd Stadium—to one of the best. Allegiant Stadium should provide UNLV with one of the best home college venues in the nation, with access to their own state-of-the-art locker room. Not to mention, playing in a domed stadium sure beats hot August and September nights playing outdoors.
“There simply is no equal to our new stadium, and we are working hard now so that we build a lasting legacy of success worthy of our new home,” UNLV coach Marcus Arroyo says.
When Las Vegas’ Triple-A baseball franchise moved from Downtown’s Cashman Field to shiny new Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin, its attendance skyrocketed as a result. The franchise had the biggest crowds in Triple-A—9,299 per game across a 72-game home schedule.
UNLV officials are likewise counting on Allegiant to increase its attendance, which typically hovers around the 15,000 threshold required for Division I status. Students, in particular, are expected to turn out in higher numbers, since Allegiant sits closer to campus and the Strip. “We look forward with excitement to giving our players, our fans and entire UNLV family the opportunity to enjoy a first-class college football experience,” Arroyo said.
The coach has delivered a similar message to high school recruits, and they seem to be listening. According to 247Sports, UNLV has assembled the top recruiting class in the Mountain West for the class of 2020, with more than 20 verbal commitments. Many recruits can’t wait to get to Allegiant, saying the new stadium is a significant reason why they picked UNLV.
“It’s a great opportunity to play in an NFL stadium,” said Aaron Holloway, a committed wide receiver from Legacy High in North Las Vegas. “You never know who is looking at you from the NFL.”
The hope is the new stadium and better players can help transform the program into a consistent winner. UNLV has just four all-time bowl appearances to its name, none in the past six seasons.
University officials have longed eyed leaving the mid-major Mountain West for a lucrative bigger conference like the Pac-12 or Big 12. The Pac-12, which will hold its annual championship game at Allegiant, likely would never have considered UNLV playing at Sam Boyd. But as with all things in the new Allegiant era, there’s new opportunity on the horizon for UNLV.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
