OT: UNLV stadium plans
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/vegas-doing-big-unlv-st…
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jan/11/unlv/
Is this the future of football stadiums? I would think Las Vegas would try to get a seating capacity of 70k+ for the chance to host bigger events.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:31 PM ^
Where's all that purple coming from?
January 15th, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^
at a convention and decided to go to the game.
They'll need to play on Thursday nights to fill up the stadium.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^
We need to get the Runnin' Rebels playing hoops there.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^
That screen will be awesome. It would suck to sit underneath it. Also, how the hell does UNfreakingLV get an awesome stadium like that?
January 15th, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 4:36 PM ^
Read this last night, the fact they are going to spend 800 million on a stadium holding less that 70k seats baffles me.
When I first saw the 800 million dollar figure I feared it would surpass Michigan's seating capacity. Then I read further, and it isn't just going to be the school's stadium, but also used for events and won't have 70k seats.
It would help with recruiting, but I don't see this really turning much of a profit once they sink that much dough into it. Thinking big is good but 800 million seems super agressive.
January 15th, 2013 at 9:08 PM ^
Hello NBA/NFL team. There were talks years ago about moving a team there, maybe this is in the works. Probably not, but a school like that spending 800 million on a lousy team is just crazy.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^
a nice stadium for a shitty team (and some events)?
January 15th, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
So kind of like Jerry World, the stadium will be a destination, and host a buttload of events, and also be the home stadium for 7 UNLV games a year. I like how instead of calling the 100 yard jumbotron a big ass screen they call it a "multimedia immersive experience." I'm sure that's the first thing that will come to mind for visitors to the stadium: "What an incredible multimedia immersive experience I'm having!" lol
January 16th, 2013 at 9:06 AM ^
Broadcast live tweets.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
Now we can turn the 2015 UNLV game into a home and home series.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^
WTF is going on in this country? Talk about people having too much money just sitting around. I'll be interested to see who is financing it. For some reason I hope it fails - not sure why, though.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^
Just imagine how much trouble kids can get in once they start hosting a bowl game there. Bad enough sending kids to Florida or New Orleans for a couple weeks, lol.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:14 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
Oh, good call. The Maaco Bowl is the Las Vegas one.
January 15th, 2013 at 11:16 PM ^
To your credit, the article does make it sound like there would be an additional bowl game in Las Vegas. Do we really need another bowl game at all? It's about time they start getting rid of some of these games.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^
The U.S. has to be the only country where $800 million dollar stadiums are being built while tens of millions of people live in poverty, our roads and bridges are falling apart, the education system is not even in the top 20 worldwide, and we're trillions of dollars in debt as a nation. Makes sense to me.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
No, but generally third world dictatorships and/or North Korea are the ones who spend money on bling before taking care of the essentials.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:49 PM ^
I wouldn't say that. The world is full of egomaniac politicians who love the glamour of big, expensive white elephants. Just look at how many cities covet the Olympics. Montreal just recently finishing paying off the 1976 Games. London's tab's going to take awhile to pay off, too.
January 15th, 2013 at 9:26 PM ^
At least if you host the Olympics you get billions of viewers and recognition as a world-class city, more or less. Las Vegas is going to get a glorified convention hall to host a football team that nobody cares about.
January 15th, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^
Was London not considered a world-class city before 2012? For two weeks of viewership, which is now over, they're paying billions for years to come. It's a terrible deal.
January 16th, 2013 at 8:07 AM ^
I suppose, but looking at how Athens has fared (and for that matter Beijing - it doesn't get as much press, probably because of censorship, but they are believed to have lost a ton of money), the Olympics seems like a pretty awful deal, financially speaking, for a city/country. And yet politicians everywhere want them.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^
Actually, what you wrote sounds an awful lot like Greece, Spain, South Africa . . . it's a growing list. France (which is building a bunch of stadiums for Euro 2016) seems eager to join it as well.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^
That seems a bit high. I'm interested to see where you found that figure. Please provide a link.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:53 PM ^
It's accurate. According to the US Census Bureau, 46.2 million people in the US live in poverty.
January 15th, 2013 at 9:45 PM ^
And way up from 2000 census. I guess I didn't realize that PNS<S was so terrible.
January 15th, 2013 at 7:53 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 5:12 PM ^
I would love to know where UNLV fits ther contribution - if any - into the budget. Their 2011 athletic department revenue, per USA Today's database, was abour $60 million against $60 million or so in expenses, and this is with the 52.4% subsidy from the university thrown in. Right now, the facilities costs for the athletic dpeartment sit around $13 million. That being said, they are apparently looking to create a tax-emexpt district near the proposed location, along with getting pledges from hotels and casinos. My guess would be what someone said above basically - it would become a Las Vegas venue that UNLV happens to use, if built.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:16 PM ^
No need to sell hot dogs when you can hawk a go w/ the one-armed bandit.
" joker...Joker...JOKER" Get your winnings here! "
January 15th, 2013 at 6:01 PM ^
The CityCenter complex in Vegas was a combo effort with Dubai World, so I wouldn't be surprised if they come calling again or another middle eastern company. The project almost failed when MGM got sued for breach of contract, so maybe this will happen and you'll get your wish.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
I'm on the same page as one of the comments from the Dr. Saturday page, keeping in mind I've a pretty savvy and knowledgable football fan, "UNLV has a footbal team?"
I seriously can't remember the last time I've heard of UNLV football. After thinking for about ten seconds I realize they're in the Mountain West, but still.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:44 PM ^
They played a pretty thrilling 3OT game against Minnesota this year to open the season. I only remember that game because I stayed up till 2AM on a Thursday night watching it when I had a 7am meeting the next morning at work.
January 15th, 2013 at 4:56 PM ^
Though it's not mentioned, it the rendition looks like it will leave space to host soccer games too.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^
This sounds like a ploy to get UNLV admitted to the Pac 12, though I'm not sure if the Pac 12 would allow that ever.
And isn't that huge screen and ugly track money sinks? Don't they need those areas for premier seating and club suites? How else are they going to get people to pay for a stadium with a decent at best football team?
January 15th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
"And it will be odd that the stadium that might produce the biggest "Wow!" factor in college football hosts a program that barely registers in the sport right now."
Brandon will not allow another stadium to have bigger WOW moments than Michigan Stadium. UNLV will curl up in a collective fetal position after Dave Brandon shows them what "Wow! factor" really means.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:17 PM ^
-David L Brandon
January 15th, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^
Look at that render.
"Come to UNLV games and sit only 40 yards from the action!"
Seriously, these things are designed by architechtural firms. Everybody working there must have gone to college. Why, oh why, do they all forget the joy of the college stadium, sitting practically right on the field. Not watching the action, but a part of it.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^
And I'm not sure how much architectural firms are told to keep the on-field fan experience close at heart. That's what chorizo races and uniforms are for.
January 15th, 2013 at 10:24 PM ^
Clearly the man in your avatar agrees with me.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:27 PM ^
UNLV has a football team?
January 15th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
I guess my take on this is why wouldn't MLB perk right up and think about moving Tampa Bay to Vegas. Between Vegas, Nebraska and North Carolina, those all seem to be the most logical destination to move a MLB franchise that is struggling with attendance and profit margins. If they do build that stadium, MLB has to look into it, even though the project is being proported as a multi-user/football venue.
January 15th, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 6:04 PM ^
Popping those "business cards" in their hands for the after-game entertainment.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:10 PM ^
We already have spring training baseball games (2 Cubs games), LA Lakers basketball preseason games, LA Clippers preseason games, LA Kings preseason games.I'd imagine they will try to host all of those in the new stadium. It will also keep the rodeo here, which is a huge draw for Vegas.
I'm sure EVERYONE here in Vegas will only believe it when they are clearing out the Land and breaking ground. We have been trying to get a stadium for so long, that people are just over it.
If this can help UNLV football rise up from the 2-9 seasons, make them attractive to the PAC-12, then it's totally worth it. Vegas is a big market, the fans are crazy about the basketball team here. If the football team was competitive, they would support them too.
I guess we will see.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
Vegas should definitely be the permanent home for the Pac 12 championship if they get a decent stadium. The on-campus thing has been a total clusterfuck because of the Friday night kickoff and what I'm guessing is a problem quickly getting tickets out to the fanbase with less than a week's notice. Stanford had 9,000 fewer fans show up for the title game than they did for their opener against San Jose State (their previous low attendance mark for the year). That reflects on the set up and the organization to me.
Vegas is an easy flight from just about anywhere in the conference footprint (outside maybe the Palouse), you could cut out of work at lunch and still make it in time for kickoff if they continue to play on Fridays, and people may even be willing to book a flight in advance knowing the worst that can happen is they get a weekend in Vegas. And you would get fans from both teams to show up. If not, I'm sure letting the casinos comp a few folks could get you a full house if actual ticket demand is low.
January 15th, 2013 at 8:01 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 6:14 PM ^
to their stadium this season, it is absolutley awful. Their fans are non existent. It was like a high school game. I like it for basketball though, solid squad.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^
January 15th, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^