Paul Szydelko
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is marking its fifth anniversary and reportedly negotiating with the NFL to host its second Super Bowl — the 63rd edition in February 2029. The enclosed stadium, which opened with no crowds during the pandemic, has since drawn more than 6 million guests to more than 700 events.
Besides the Super Bowl in 2024, other high-profile events have included international soccer matches, WrestleMania 41 in April and the Alvarez-Crawford fight in September. The stadium floor will be configured for basketball for the first time when it hosts the collegiate Hall of Fame Series in 2027. It will also welcome its first NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in 2028.
Beyonce, Taylor Swift, BTS and Garth Brooks are among the stars who have sold out the stadium on national tours. Conventions, product launches and private events, including whole-venue buyouts and intimate dinners on the 50-yard line, keep the calendar busy.
And of course, the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders are the chief tenant of the building and are responsible for its operations.
I recently spoke with Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of the Raiders since 2022, about the stadium’s impact on tourism. Our conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: The stadium symbolizes Vegas’s latest iteration as a sports and events destination. How did it fill a void in Vegas’s tourism landscape?
A: (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO) Steve Hill mentioned that the arrival of Allegiant Stadium almost transformed Las Vegas the way the Mirage did in the ’90s, being one of the first integrated resorts [a hotel-casino with convention or meeting space, retail, dining and entertainment options] in southern Nevada. You have incredible venues–whether it be MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena–but to have a venue that can have a 65,000-person capacity was something that didn’t exist prior to the arrival of Allegiant Stadium. Now you have a different fan, a different Las Vegas visitor, traveling to Las Vegas for these incredible events, with about 65% [ascertained by the Raiders and the LVCVA from ZIP codes of event ticket buyers and post-event satisfaction surveys] of Allegiant attendees saying that they traveled from outside of Nevada and saying that the event at the stadium was the reason for the travel.
Q: Did the stadium change the dynamic or amplify where Vegas was going?
A: Obviously we’re known for having entertainers. You have the incredible amount of residencies that are here, but to have a stadium tour … Especially for concerts, they’re not going to do a stadium in one city and then change their entire set and design for an arena or a smaller venue. So by having a stadium here, you are capturing stadium-ready shows.
Sandra Douglass Morgan has served president of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders since 2022. The Raiders are responsible for operating Allegiant Stadium. Photo Credit: Las Vegas Raiders
Q: Tell me about the stadium’s less-publicized activities.
A: We have everything from 100- to 300-person events at our private event spaces like the Champions Club or the Credit One Club. We have Modelo and Twitch lounges for smaller events. And then we do have full stadium buyouts. Google (Cloud Next) did a full stadium buyout (a private event in April with the Killers and Wyclef Jean performing). We work hand in hand with the LVCVA, so you could have conventions at the Convention Center, at Mandalay Bay, at Venetian, and then have a culminating event or sometimes even a kickoff at the stadium.
Q: As someone who grew up in Las Vegas, did you think that the city could ever host the Super Bowl?
A: The “What Happens Here, Stays Here” campaign — the NFL didn’t even allow at that time Vegas to air that ad during the Super Bowl! But you go from that to being able to host in such a short period of time. It’s incredible. It’s a testament to the city continuing to push that. … Times change, and Vegas has always been willing to adapt and rise to the challenge when we’ve been told no for so many years.
Q: You were vice chair of the Super Bowl Host Committee. What did you or the NFL learn to improve next time?
A: When you’re looking at all the different activations — the parties, the corporate partnership events that are sometimes around the stadium — there’s not a lot of real estate around there right now that’s readily available. So [we’re] being creative and finding shuttles or other vacant land in places for people to set up. Now that the NFL has been here for a Pro Bowl, for a Super Bowl, for a draft, the team on the ground, it has great connections. If there’s a certain need, whether it be a convention room or a vacant area, to host different things and highlight different areas of the city, they know where to find it.
Q: What stadium elements are you particularly proud of?
A: The technology investments that have been made. … I’m really proud of our team continuing to try and test and refresh things: touchless checkout; being able to order food in your seat; having a more functional Raiders and Allegiant Stadium app; being able to use wayfinding to find whatever type of food that you’re looking for and a map that can walk you step by step on how to get there. … And the improvement that we’re making in our premium club spaces and area. But premium stuff aside, it’s important that we treat every guest (to ensure) they’re having a true first-class experience.
Q: Although there’s a roof, you can tell on TV whether it’s day game or night, but there are no shadows or glare you find in other stadiums.
A: That is a pure [Raiders’ owner] Mark Davis dictate on the [ethylene tetrafluoroethylene] roof and glare and the even level of opaqueness or transparency, if you will. All fans, regardless of who they’re a fan of, have him to thank for not having any glare and still having a really good experience, regardless if it’s day, night or if it’s 120 degrees outside.
Q. Have you compiled a wish list of improvements needed to keep it “state-of-the-art?”Â
A. Wayfinding, electronic signage, is huge from a guest experience perspective. Being able to scan and identify places: retail, food and beverage, guest services, wheelchairs and ADA accommodations. In our suites, we’re constantly going to look at refreshing the televisions, the sound systems and things like that. We’re working hand in hand, not only with our Raiders team but also the Allegiant Stadium team, on the feedback from our guests but also from our own travels. We go to away games. We’re looking at everything, seeing what the latest trend is and if it’s something that can fit in our stadium. A good example is those club suites that we added at the end of 2023. It was just open space. But we’ve been able to utilize that and give people a great, enhanced experience that’s much closer to the field. It’s been highlighted not only by the NFL, but by their teams: Even though you have such a brand-new stadium, [we have found] different places to enhance that guest experience. We’re going to continue to do that.