HBCU Football Game At Allegiant Stadium Saturday Announced Attendance Of Nearly 30,000
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The inaugural HBCU Classic college football game that produced a Grambling 26-24 win over Jackson State reported attendance of 29,655 — nearly 5,000 more than the 25,000 that stadium workers were told to expect for Saturday’s event at Allegiant Stadium.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Las Vegas’ publicly-funded tourism agency, paid $350,000 to bring this game to the Las Vegas market. The NFL Raiders, which have a bye week this weekend, also supported the HBCU football matchup, though it’s unclear if the Raiders contributed money to help stage the game at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders run the publicly-subsidized domed stadium.
The game attracted a high-energy crowd, many of whom also came to enjoy the halftime show band entertainment. The game showcased two of college football’s greatest marching bands: Grambling’s “World Famed” Tiger Marching Band and Jackson State’s internationally renowned “Sonic Boom of the South.”
On Jan. 14 this year, the LVCVA board approved a $350,000 deal to pay ASM Global, which is hired by the Raiders to operate the stadium. Both college teams are football fixtures in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
The $350,000 paid by the LVCVA approaches the more than $400,000 UNLV pays the Raiders per game to play its home football games at Allegiant Stadium.
Here’s a breakdown of the rent paid for each of UNLV’s six regular season games in 2023:
^ UNLV vs Bryant, Sept, 2, 2023: $403,938.67
^UNLV vs Vanderbilt, Sept. 16, 2023: $421,408
^UNLV vs Hawaii, Sept. 30, 2023: $418,843.40
^UNLV vs Colorado State, Oct. 21, 2023: $406,356.84
^UNLV vs Wyoming, Nov. 10, 2023: $406,356.84
^UNLV vs San Jose, Nov. 25, 2023: $411,249.11
For non-UNLV college football games, the LVCVA justifies spending its public dollars by saying visitors will attend the stadium event and spend money in the Las Vegas area.
Fans were still coming to the game Saturday even in the second quarter pictured here.
