Senator Rosen and Friends Use Allegiant Stadium Field To Amplify Need To Bolster Las Vegas Tourism Industry During Pandemic Times
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
You usually don’t associate U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen with the iconic Raiders shield at midfield of a palatial domed NFL stadium, but Nevada’s junior senator was there inside Allegiant Stadium this morning to tout a federal travel and tourism bill that she says will bolster Las Vegas’s main economic engine, its tourism industry.
Rosen said not only will federal money be allocated to Nevada to help pay for essential travel infrastructure from roads to the airport serving Las Vegas, but she used the football stadium artificial turf as a platform to amplify her Omnibus Tourism and Travel Act of 2021. The bill still requires Senate approval and it would kickstart administrative moves to help propel tourism to Las Vegas — and other nationwide destinations.
Joining Rosen on the playing field to hammer home the tourism theme were Clark Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, LVCVA chief Steve Hill and Jeremy Aguero, Raiders chief operations and analytics officer.
A month ago, Rosen pumped up the relevance of her federal legislation this way: “Tourism is one of Nevada’s key industries and employs nearly 350,000 Nevadans. Although Nevada’s economy is beginning to recover and experiencing strong growth, the state unemployment rate remains the worst in the country. In the Las Vegas area, visitor volume is still down 7.6% and hotel room occupancy is down 8.4% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Nationwide, unemployment in the leisure and hospitality industry, covering the bulk of tourism businesses and workers, is nearly twice the national average.”
The Raiders’ 62,000-seat home stadium, built with a public contribution of an NFL stadium subsidy record of $750 million, is an essential piece of Las Vegas tourism infrastructure. Indeed, it was born out of former Gov. Brian Sandoval’s tourism infrastructure committee that culminated with Sandoval signing the stadium funding bill into law in 2016.
Here we are six years later and a year and a half into the stadium’s life and it’s crystal clear that Raiders home games in this venue are tourist events. The anecdotal evidence from this past Raiders season showed that fans from Raiders opponent home cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Denver traveled in the tens of thousands, filling hotel rooms and helping generate hotel room tax revenues that are paying for the public contribution toward the stadium’s construction.
So, it was most appropriate that Rosen, in black slacks and a green blazer, strolled out from the bowels of the venue to her press conference mic today.
Rosen took a look around and mentioned how far away the field goal posts looked, validating the successful work of Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson who delivered a mighty share of the Raiders’ walk-off wins this season thanks to his right foot.
The stadium announces programming all the time, like yesterday when the news hit that Latin rapper Bad Bunny was making a stop at Allegiant Stadium Sept. 23. The stadium’s economic impact rests with the events that are coming to Las Vegas that would otherwise bypass Sin City if the market did not have a sports entertainment asset like the Raiders’ home.
Today’s foursome were giddy about the NFL all-star game, the Pro Bowl, coming to the stadium in a week and a half. Indeed, workers were already installing promotional Pro Bowl signs at the stadium Tuesday.
And naturally, they couldn’t help but make reference to the 2024 Super Bowl , which is being hosted by Allegiant Stadium in two years. These big events don’t come free as Hill’s Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) recently won approval to spend $40 million on hosting the NFL’s championship game.
The truth is the stadium with its gleaming black veneer is Las Vegas’ newest toy that locals can’t get enough of. For example, the local chamber of commerce even held its annual forecast event at the stadium last week when chamber exhibitors setting up booths on the playing surface.
Naft’s county commission district might just include another major league sport as Major League Soccer is looking to expand to Las Vegas and has begun talking with two potential team owners.
Sports tourism is major business revenues for Las Vegas and expect Rosen to be a key player in any federal boost to tourism because she is chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion.
