By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The massive stadium that stood silent for so long last year during the pandemic pulsed with life inside at sections and concourses and outside in parking lots and the roads leading to the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium Saturday night.
It wasn’t a Raiders game that brought the masses. It was music superstar Garth Brooks who drew 70,000 fans, workers and onlookers to a stadium on the west side of Interstate 15, about a 20-minute walk from the Strip along a closed Hacienda Avenue.
Police officers from the Las Vegas Valley’s police departments were enlisted to handle the traffic for what was the first full-capacity event at the $2 billion NFL stadium, which included Southern Nevada contributing $750 million in public dollars toward its construction. The stadium was ready in late July 2020, but Raiders owner Mark Davis said if all the fans can’t attend Raiders games in the domed venue then none would.
So after 35,000 people came for techno music star Illenium at the stadium July 3, the ultra-popular Brooks filled the stadium three days ago.
LVSportsBiz.com interviewed to two Brooks fans, Jeremy Long and Kassie Griffith, who attended Saturday’s concert for a live stream broadcast Monday. That live stream is on LVSportsBiz.com’s Facebook page. Here’s Griffith at the Brooks concert with the stage in the center and people already filling the venue.
We also heard from other fans via social media regarding parking, traffic and acoustics inside the venue. The Raiders also outlined a plan for remote parking lots and shuttles to the stadium. Did people use those? Were they even in operation?
We offer the Top 10 takeaways from the stadium’s first 100 percent capacity event and suggestions to help alleviate issues that surfaced Saturday.
^ People who prepaid the $100 for the onsite parking reported it was easy in and easy out from the various lots on the stadium footprint if they came at least an hour before the event’s starting time.
^ People could not find the uber and lyft rideshare locations. Long suggested signage outside the stadium and on the streets directing people to the ride app spots. Keep in mind, there is no public transportation or RTC bus service that takes you directly to the stadium. The closest public bus is RTC’s “Deuce” bus that takes you along the Strip, but then you will have to walk from the Strip to the stadium on Hacienda Avenue. RTC does have a $2 bus that takes Vegas Golden Knights fans from suburban locations directly to T-Mobile Arena.
^ Fix the pedestrian flow on the main concourse. Griffith said it was congested from pedestrians and people waiting on concession lines, with the foot traffic lighter as she went to higher concourses.
^ Improve communication about the bag and purse policy. LVSportsBiz saw security picking up discarded purses outside the stadium turnstiles. There was also a long line to check in bags/purses for $20 before the concert. People were walking to their cars to return purses.
^ Make the acoustics more consistent. People who attended Saturday’s Brooks concert offered a variety of opinions on the sound quality inside the stadium. Some fans said Brooks sounded great. Long said he could not understand Brooks’ words. Others said there was an echo.
^ With the temperature spiking to 117 degrees Saturday, it was brutal weather to walk to the stadium and wait outside. Both Long and Griffith recommended more canopies and shade structures outside the stadium.
^ Speaking of walking to the stadium, closing Hacienda Avenue to cars and making it pedestrian-only was a good move. Many people parked their cars in hotel garages on the Strip. The Raiders estimate 22,000 of the 65,000 game fans will walk on Hacienda to the stadium.
^ Long said bathrooms ran out of paper towels. Fix that.
^ Sorry for sounding so obvious, but map your game plan and get there early. Don’t wing it, or it will cause headaches. That said, the stadium needs to beef up the number of parking attendants bigtime.
^ It’s inevitable that tens of thousands of people leaving at one time will create traffic jams after a game or event. Consider staggering your departure.
Police, stadium officials and county personnel will discuss the first full-capacity event at the stadium and hopefully work on addressing issues.
August will be a busy month at the stadium with four events: Concacaf Gold Cup soccer final Aug. 1; Raiders vs. Seahawks preseason game Aug. 14; WWE SummerSlam Aug. 21 and Guns N’ Roses Aug. 27.
The Allegiant Stadium website offers this info on parking and traffic.
LVSPORTSBIZ.COM: We are a daily digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports and stadium industry. Our stories are linked and quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda locally here in Las Vegas. Advertise with us by contacting asnel@LVSportsBiz.com.