By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Well, not every UNLV football game in 2020 will be played at the new Allegiant Stadium, which is controlled by the NFL Las Vegas Raiders.
In the end, the scheduled Sept. 5 game between UNLV and Louisiana Tech will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium, not the Raiders’ palatial new domed football stadium.
UNLV had previously advertised that the 2020 football season was going to be at Allegiant Stadium and the Rebels thought their final football game at Sam Boyd Stadium was played Nov. 23, 2019.
But UNLV could not convince the Raiders to allow the Sept. 5 game to be played at new Allegiant Stadium, which the Raiders say will be completed July 31. The UNLV vs Cal football game is set for Aug. 29 at the new 65,000-seat venue on 62.5 acres on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay. That’s a go. But a week later, UNLV will return to Sam Boyd Stadium.
For the Sept. 5 UNLV vs La. Tech game, UNLV said admission will be free to all returning season ticket holders and discounted for new season ticket holders.
“This is our way of expressing our appreciation to our season ticket holders,” UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois said of the free admission for returning season ticket holders.
For the opening season in 2020, the Raiders-UNLV joint-use stadium agreement does not require the Raiders to have their new Allegiant Stadium available for the two UNLV home football games on Sept. 5 and 12, stadium board consultant Jeremy Aguero has told LVSportsBiz.com. UNLV plays Arizona State for a home game scheduled for Sept. 12. The location for that Sept. 12 game is still to be determined.
With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting sports hard, including college sports, it’s unclear whether fans would be allowed to watch live games at Allegiant Stadium or whether the games will be held. There are so many unknowns at this juncture.
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