VGK Owner Bill Foley’s New Arena In Henderson Hosts First Indoor Football Game Friday, With Knight Hawks Chalking Up Win

March 18, 2022 Alan Snel Bill Foley, Mike Davis

By Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’ Donnell

After the $84 million Dollar Loan Center arena opened in Henderson last week for the Big West college basketball tournament, it was back in action Friday evening hosting its first indoor football game.

Golden Knights majority owner Bill Foley’s vast business portfolio includes this 6,000-seat arena and the Indoor Football League team it houses — the Vegas Knight Hawks. Foley’s Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League will start playing here April 2.

The Knight Hawks, coached by Canadian Football League coaching vet Mike Davis, defeated the Northern Arizona Wranglers, 22-9, in their inaugural game.

The city of Henderson has made a hefty investment in this building, which was built on the site of the former Henderson Pavilion in Green Valley near The District business area. Indoor football has been here before in this Las Vegas market when the Gladiators played at Thomas & Mack Center and fizzled out about seven years ago.

The city spent $42 million on the arena — half of the $84 million construction costs, with Foley’s sports and entertainment group garnering the revenue from the building. That’s how public-private partnerships work — they’re actually public subsidies where the team owner gets public dollars to help build the sports venue while the owner gets the venue-related revenues.

VGK owner Bill Foley, center wearing gray sweater who also owns arena and Knight Hawks

It was eight-on-eight football on the 50-yard field, which is black with red end zones and the Knight Hawks logo in the center. Foley created the Knight Hawks to have programming dates for his arena, which will also host his Henderson Silver Knights. minor league hockey team.

The Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League team played the Northern Arizona Wranglers. You might recall the Wranglers was also the name of a former minor league hockey team in Las Vegas.

Here’s a look at ticket prices:

Sponsor signage covers the boards around the indoor football field, with rock music blaring all the time.

Parking was an issue for the football game, as fans were trickling into the arena even after the game started. The number of fans inside the arena looked to be in the 4,000-4,500 range at around halftime. An indoor football game is usually high-scoring, but this game was a defensive struggle in the first half as Vegas led Northern Arizona, 12-3, at halftime.