NFL All-Stars Come To Las Vegas Ballpark For Practices, Skills Competition Before Pro Bowl Game At Allegiant Stadium Feb. 6
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The first football action at the minor league baseball park in Summerlin is coming next week when some of the NFL’s biggest stars will be practicing at Las Vegas Ballpark and even mixing it up with the skills competition.
The NFL Pro Bowl, the NFL all-star game between the American Football Conference and National Football Conference, is scheduled for Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 6 at 12 noon Las Vegas time with the skills showdown and daily AFC and NFC team practices being held at Las Vegas Ballpark 12 miles to the west in Downtown Summerlin. The 10,000-seat baseball venue is the home field of the Las Vegas Aviators, the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.
The NFL even installed new turf inside the ballpark for the football activities, said Don Logan, Aviators president.
“It’s the first non-baseball, non-softball sports event in the ballpark,” Logan said.
The NFL’s Sam Drexler pointed out, “We have installed the same lay and play bermudgrass surface that we utilize in our stadiums for the skills competition and pro bowl practice. It is the same vendor that is used to provide the grass for Allegiant stadium.”
The $150 million ballpark, which received an $80 million naming rights deal from the LVCVA tourism agency, also hosted the Enchant Christmas event from Nov. 26-Jan. 2. The Christmas celebration and decorations drew an astonishing 300,000 people, Logan said. “That’s a 40-day homestand,” he quipped.
The NFL Pro Bowl is part of what is literally an all-star week in sports in Las Vegas next week.
A college football all-star game, the 97th East-West Shrine Bowl, is Feb. 3 at Allegiant Stadium.
The NHL All-Star Game is Feb. 5 at T-Mobile Arena, a day before the NFL Pro Bowl game.
