Announced Record 63,969 Attend USC 27 vs LSU 20 Classic Thriller At Allegiant Stadium In Vegas Sunday; First Time Standing-Room-Only Tickets Were Sold For Football Game At Stadium
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — John Saccenti, the local ESPN man who arranged the USC vs LSU powerhouse game here in Las Vegas, told LVSportsBiz.com Sunday that conference realignments scrubbed Vegas Kickoff Classic games in 2025 and 2026 but Utah and Miami will tangle in Allegiant Stadium in 2027.
Saccenti also said today’s Trojans vs Tigers game at Allegiant Stadium is the first game at the NFL Raiders-run stadium where standing-room-only tickets are being sold.
He expected about 64,000 fans for today’s sellout.
The attendance was announced in the fourth quarter and Saccenti was very close.
The number was a record 63,969 — the biggest crowd for the football stadium that opened in 2020.
They saw a thriller as USC scored the winning touchdown with a mere eight seconds left in the game. Final: Trojans 27 LSU Tigers 20. It was a matchup of top 25 teams that had not played each other in 40 years.
Check out LVSportsBiz.com’s interview of Saccenti before today’s game. He explains how he was able to match up Southern California and Louisiana State:
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You’re looking at Sam, a graduate student who was elected by the 400-member USC Trojans band to serve as the one and only drum major.
Sam is a trumpet player who hopes to lead a university band one day.
He mentioned a local LA metal worker fashions his metal helmet and breast plate.
He slammed the sword into the game logo on the field, which is a synthetic turf.
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This is what Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium are built for.
One-off, neutral site sports events like a college football game that matches a powerhouse brand from Southern California with a power team from the South where football is king.
It’s Southern Cal against Louisiana State at the Raiders stadium and the game is a sellout.
But the game organizer, ESPN, informed the media that there are standing room only tickets available on Ticketmaster.com.
With a packed house, that’s more than 60,000 fans filling a stadium that was built in 2020 thanks to Southern Nevada contributing $750 million to the $1.4 billion construction budget that was the biggest element of the $2 billion football stadium project.
With LSU and USC fans buying hotel rooms in Las Vegas, they’re helping pay off the public debt that is more than $1.1 billion with interest on those bonds.
USC has played at Allegiant Stadium, where the Trojans were trounced by Utah in the championship game of the old Pac-12 Dec. 2, 2022.
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LSU started strong, driving to the three-yard line. A fourth down pass fell incomplete as USC stopped the Tigers on fourth and goal-to-go.
In the second quarter, a spectacular catch set up a USC TD and the Trojans led, 7-0, with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
The game was tied 10-10 at halftime and LSU led, 17-13, in the third quarter before USC went ahead, 20-17, in the fourth.
With the stadium split between USC and LSU fans, the domed building across the I-15 from Mandalay Bay exploded with thunderous cheers and boos on every play.
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The contest was a classic thriller. USC scored the go-ahead touchdown with a mere eight seconds on the clock to win, 27-20.
With this type of energy and money flowing in from visitors, you’d think the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority would make a pitch to have a college football playoff game be staged at Allegiant Stadium as the Las Vegas Bowl.
That’s Saccenti’s next assignment after lining up USC and LSU, which was played at the level of a college postseason game in Las Vegas tonight.
