UNLV is excited about the Raiders moving to Las Vegas
UNLV is set up to be a beneficiary of the Oakland Raiders’ impending move to Las Vegas.
The NFL voted 31-1 Monday to approve the Raiders’ relocation request to Las Vegas. As of now, the Raiders are going to stay in Oakland for at least two years while the team’s new stadium is built in Vegas. When it’s done and the Raiders move in, UNLV will as well.
For UNLV football, it’s going to help us recruit at a high level,” UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said in a statement. “It really adds to the facilities we needed to address, with that and the football building, and all those things happening, they have really given us a chance to do something special here.”
The Rebels went 4-8 in 2016 and haven’t been to a bowl game since a Heart of Dallas Bowl loss after the 2013 season. The bowl appearance was UNLV’s first since 2000.
The Raiders’ and Rebels’ new stadium will be a near-$2 billion domed stadium that seats 65,000 people. UNLV currently plays at Sam Boyd Stadium, which seats 35,000 and was built in 1971. It’s not widely considered as viable temporary home for the Raiders because of a lack of amenities, as the LVRJ notes. Oakland owner Mark Davis did say Monday the Raiders could play preseason games at the stadium starting in 2018.
It’s not crazy to think the Las Vegas Bowl could see a boost too. The pre-Christmas game that typically matches a team from the Pac-12 and the Mountain West could get a status upgrade with a new stadium. Heck, the city could even be a viable future bidder for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Of the six sites selected for title games since the CFP’s inception in 2014, only one (New Orleans’ Superdome in 2019) is more than 20 years old.
“We are very excited to welcome the Raiders to our great city of Las Vegas,” UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said. “Our community is on the rise, and that has clearly been recognized by the NFL owners with today’s vote. We can’t wait for the day our UNLV football program has a new home, sharing the new world-class stadium with the Las Vegas Raiders.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!