By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Allegiant Stadium gets a second crack at hosting a 70,000-person, full-capacity event Sunday and this time the stadium is trying to be more ready for the crush of fans who will pack the streets outside the venue that has so little on-site parking.
After traffic and heat issues plagued the Garth Brooks concert amid record-breaking 117-degree heat July 10, Allegiant Stadium broke out the mister fans for today’s USA vs Mexico Concacaf Gold Cup final soccer game.
The giant fans were arranged along the metal barriers that will funnel tens of thousands of fans to the turnstiles.
But this time, there’s a new wrinkle — every single person inside the domed, 65,000-seat stadium is required to wear a mask to comply with a Clark County face covering mandate for indoor public places.
With so many visitors expected for the 5:30PM Gold Cup game, it’s going to fall on ushers and security to remind the mask refuseniks to cover their face in light of the fact that there’s a surge in COVID-19 cases in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. Nevada also has a vaccination rate that lags behind many other states.
It’s the first sports event at Allegiant Stadium with a packed house. More full capacity events are set for Aug. 14 when the Las Vegas Raiders host the Seattle Seahawks in a preseason game and Aug. 21 when WWE’s SummerSlam comes to Las Vegas.
Traffic on local streets outside the stadium was a mess after Garth brooks concert three weeks ago.
LVSportsBiz.com spokes with several security workers Saturday and they said they’re not working Sunday. One was attending the game. The other wanted the day off. But both expected security and parking attendants to be beefed up for the soccer match. International soccer games are famous for the passionate fans and parties before the game. There might be some drinking before the game.