Allegiant Stadium Is A Convert, Changing From UNLV’s Artificial Surface To Raiders’ Natural Grass For Back-To-Back Home Games In Las Vegas
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
During more than half of the year there’s no football games at Allegiant Stadium, built by the NFL Raiders in 2020 thanks to $750 million in public dollars from Southern Nevada.
But when the Raiders and UNLV football seasons take hold from August to January, there are occasional weekends when both the Silver & Black and the Rebels are both in action at the stadium they share.
Such was the case this weekend when UNLV obliterated Fresno State, 59-14, Saturday during a game that started 12:30 PM before the Raiders host the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 1:25 PM.
It’s times like these when the stadium conversion workers move into action with a sense of urgency because the UNLV artificial turf playing surface has to be removed and the Raiders natural turf installed.
The Raiders’ natural grass field is groomed, manicured and watered outside in a sliding field tray, and then rolled into the domed NFL stadium. Here’s how the Raiders field looked Saturday.
The NFL Cardinals stadium in Glendale, Arizona is the only stadium in the U.S. where the field is rolled into the venue.
Here’s some Raiders stadium factoids about the rollers, according to the Allegiant Stadium website.
UNLV and the Raiders play the same weekend in about a month, but the Rebels game against Boise State is a Friday night 7:30PM game Oct. 25, with the Raiders hosting their rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Sunday Oct. 27 at 1:25 PM.
Conversion workers are invaluable assets for Las Vegas’ stadium and arena scene.
For example, it’s common for T-Mobile Arena workers to convert the building from Golden Knights hockey to other events like UFC fight shows or even boxing matches.
LVSportsBiz.com will be covering Sunday’s Raiders-Browns game so look for coverage.
