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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — There is no shortage of skeptics who doubt MLB A’s owner John Fisher will actually complete construction of a 33,000-capacity ballpark at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
But the Athletics are providing 24/7 video evidence that construction of the $1.75 billion domed stadium is really happening. The A’s hope to open the stadium for the 2028 MLB season and are playing in a Triple-A minor league ballbark in West Sacramento in 2025, 2026 and 2027 while the venue on the Strip is built.
The “armadillo”-lookalike ballpark exterior features a “dragon scale” metal-clad rainscreen, free-standing steel trusses that span nearly 700 feet, and a one-of-a-kind 36,000-square-foot-foot cable net glass curtain wall.
The Mortenson | McCarthy construction team that built the Raiders stadium in 2020 is running the show. The A’s say more than 50 percent of the workers will be local.
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Thursday was the second day of the Mountain West Conference Media Days at Circa and new UNLV head football coach Dan Mullen met the media.
Mullen is a peppy guy who worked for ESPN before taking the job to succeed Barry Odom, who left UNLV for the head football job at Purdue.
A former head coach at Mississippi State and Florida, Mullen spent more than an hour chatting with the media and also hit radio row at the Circa’s third level during MWC media day 2.
A local TV station sports reporter jokingly introduced Mullen as the “mayor of Las Vegas” and that’s what college football coaches are these days — university goodwill ambassadors hitting the local circuit in the college town to schmooze with locals and try and drive ticket sales.
Speaking of ticket sales, UNLV AD Erick Harper told local Las Vegas sports talk radio man Steve Cofield Wednesday that UNLV is pushing 9,000 season tickets for football games at Allegiant Stadium and that UNLV grossed $2 million in ticket sales per game at Allegiant Stadium in 2024.
Mullen said he was impressed with UNLV’s practice training center and home field of Allegiant Stadium, noting Las Vegas is ready to experience bigtime college football like this market hosting the 63,969 fans that packed Allegiant Stadium in September to watch USC beat LSU in the Vegas Kickoff Classic.
Mullen said Allegiant Stadium is one of the best college venues in the U.S. He noted UNLV football games are more affordable than Raiders games. Indeed, get-in prices range from $24 to $55 per ticket plus fees for UNLV games at Allegiant Stadium (see chart below).
UNLV was picked to finish second in the 12-team Mountain West Conference, behind conference football power Boise State. In July 2026, current MWC schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State leave for the Pac-12, while new schools like Northern Illinois, UC Davis, Texas-El Paso and Grand Canyon will join the Mountain West.
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Allegiant Stadium will be in action this autumn with UNLV and Raiders football games — and with Paul McCartney.
The famous former Beatle is playing at the NFL stadium Oct. 4 at 8 PM.
PSA