Plan Ahead For Events At Allegiant Stadium; Transportation, Parking Issues For Locals Are Work-in-Progress

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

Allegiant Stadium beefed up more police outside the stadium, had more signs for rideshare and rolled out fan misters to cool down soccer fans at Sunday’s Mexico-USA Gold Cup game, but officials warned it’s going to probably take a Raiders season to fine-tune parking and transportation logistics for a venue that lacks on-site parking.

“While there is more work to be done, I was pleased with many of the changes that had been implemented,” Clark County Michael Naft wrote on his Facebook page Monday, a day after more than 61,514 people filled the Raiders’ domed stadium on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay.

There were no Raiders fans in the stadium for the NFL team’s inaugural season in 2020. But that changes in 11 days when the Seattle Seahawks visit the Raiders for a preseason game Aug. 14.

Then the Raiders’ home-opener for 2021 is a Monday Night Football game when the Baltimore Ravens visit Sept. 13.

Las Vegas locals are used to driving to seas of asphalts at Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium, but all that has changed with T-Mobile Arena opening on the Strip in 2016 and Allegiant Stadium opening in 2020. The stadium has seating for 65,000, but on-site parking for only 2,500 cars as a Clark County Commission led by then-chairman Steve Sisiolak gave a green light to the stadium parking plan.

It’s obvious that fans will follow a trial-and-error approach to see what works best for them when getting to Allegiant Stadium for events. Many are parking along the Strip and walking on Hacienda Avenue to reach the stadium. Hacienda is closed to cars on event days to allow walkers to reach the venue.

Sunday’s Mexico-USA soccer match drew complaints from people who said it took too long to get inside the stadium. They also identified issues around the inside the stadium, too.

Here’s one man’s review of Sunday’s game experience that he posted on his Facebook page:

Here’s another fan’s review. Local resident Justin Gannon sent this email:

“Getting inside no issues. Got to the stadium around 430 and took 10 minutes to get in. Security guy was telling people there were more entrances to the side and there was. Once we were in the main entrance getting to the 3rd level was terrible. There was only 1 tiny escalator and the line was incredibly long. We had time so we walked the 1st level concourse until we found stairs. We walked the stairs to the 3rd level. They should have signage for the stairs as an alternative to the escalator. Leaving not sure. We left when OT started because we had to get our kids so we had no issue.”

Gannon added: “I would hope when the game was over security would direct people to the stairs as an alternative to the escalator but I don’t know if they did. Most stadiums have both stairs and escalators easily accessible. They should also invest in a portable canopy for hacienda on GameDays when weather is over a certain temp. Would make it more bearable”

Another local fan said she checked her purse’s dimensions at home and thought it was smaller than what was allowed, but was turned away anyway at the gate.

It was a bit of a walk because I didn’t want to pay the high price for onsite parking. That being said, the walk from Mandalay was pretty easy. They had the bridge shut down between Mandalay and Luxor. There was no shade at all, which I’m not sure how that would be accommodated, but they did have water stations that seemed to have plenty of cups. There were a lot of people on the bridge but things moved along smoothly. There were people who were turning women away to check their purses. I checked the dimensions of mine the day before and was within the parameters, but I was still stopped and told I would have to check it for a fee of $20. That was pretty frustrating to be honest, but I left the grounds to cross the street to check my purse in the north check-in center. I was in line for about 15 minutes with no shade, no water available, and no movement of the line before I decided I was not interested in overheating to the point of heat stroke in that sun — female local fan

Another fan who was a visitor told LVSportsBiz.com: “Stadium seems very much geared towards visitors and not locals in terms of convenience. Experience was solid. Long lines for concessions and getting in, but that is somewhat standard for big events. Stadium has everything you NEED but nothing more. Was definitely built on a budget and a big contrast from the stadium in LA that opened up at the same time. Nothing really memorable about it. Just a solid experience in a great location. Reminds me of the Houston Texans stadium a lot.”

There have been no RTC buses to events at the stadium, but that’s changing. RTC is offering five routes from suburban sites around the valley for Raiders games starting with the Aug. 14 game. It’s only $4 roundtrip. They all leave from hotel-casinos around the valley:

• Route 605 – Summerlin Game Day Express: Red Rock Casino Resort Spa, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89135
• Route 606 – Green Valley Game Day Express: Green Valley Ranch Resort Casino & Spa, 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway, Henderson 89052
• Route 607 – Centennial Hills Game Day Express: Santa Fe Station Hotel & Casino, 4949 N. Rancho Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89130
• Route 609 – East Side Game Day Express: Boulder Station Hotel & Casino, 4111 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV 89121
• Route 612 – West Henderson Game Day Express: M Resort Spa Casino, 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Henderson 89044

More Metro police officers were around the stadium, fans reported.

Once inside the stadium, fans reported long lines:

Once inside, getting around on the causeway was difficult. Lines for beer and food were so long they snaked in and out of the only isles for walking. I think those could have been better managed with some employee direction. Even security was having trouble doing their rounds. Some of the areas just need pre-determined queues and that would make some of it a bit easier. The stadium prices are high, but to be expected I guess. I didn’t want to wait for food, just waiting for drinks took a longer time than it originally seemed like. Most areas didn’t have all of their registers open. Usually one or 2 were not manned when I was walking around looking for refreshments. The place was very clean considering all the open cups of drinks, especially beer. Staff at the top of each stairwell only verified seats were acceptable, they didn’t offer input as to which side or how far down to go. For me it wasn’t a problem but there were a number of people having trouble finding their seats. — the female fan who attended soccer game Sunday

Next stadium event: Raiders vs Seahawks on Aug. 14