Sam Boyd Stadium

Stadium History and Features

Sam Boyd Stadium opened on October 23, 1971, as Las Vegas Stadium, built at an original cost of $3.5 million. The facility underwent several name changes, becoming the Las Vegas Silver Bowl in 1978, the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in 1984, and finally Sam Boyd Stadium on April 26, 1994. Its seating capacity evolved significantly from an initial 15,000, expanding to 32,000 in 1978 and reaching a peak of 36,800 in 1999 after renovations. A further renovation in the summer of 2015, costing $1.2 million, replaced the worn artificial turf and removed 860 seats from the sidelines to widen the field, setting the final official capacity at 35,500. The stadium's physical design was a single-decked, horseshoe-shaped bowl that was largely uncovered, with a north-south oriented field situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet above sea level.

For many years, the stadium's future was tied to the UNLV Rebels football program, which began exploring options for a new stadium in 2011. The 2017 announcement of the Oakland Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas and the construction of Allegiant Stadium set in motion the end of Sam Boyd's primary use. While the Raiders briefly considered the stadium as a potential temporary home in 2016, a lease extension in Oakland and the impractical cost of upgrading Sam Boyd to NFL standards rendered the idea obsolete. The stadium would have required significant renovation to meet NFL regulations, and since it would have been abandoned after Allegiant Stadium was completed, the investment was deemed financially and logistically impractical. UNLV played its final game at the venue on November 23, 2019, defeating San Jose State 38-35, and the last Las Vegas Bowl was held there on December 21, 2019, where the Washington Huskies defeated the Boise State Broncos 38-7.

Following the move to Allegiant Stadium, UNLV entered an agreement receiving up to $3.5 million annually for ten years from the Raiders, effectively prohibiting events at Sam Boyd. Clark County purchased the stadium for $5 million in 2021, though its long-term fate remains undetermined. University officials are considering selling the property, swapping it for land closer to campus, demolishing the structure, or remodelling it for secondary or high school use. After its primary closure, the stadium was used for the 2021 UNLV commencement ceremonies due to social distancing requirements, providing one final large-scale community use for the facility.

College Football Tenancy and Events

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels called Sam Boyd Stadium home for 49 consecutive seasons, from 1971 through 2019, establishing a long-term relationship with the venue. The stadium also became the host of the Las Vegas Bowl from its inception in 1992 through 2019. The bowl game saw periods of remarkable attendance, particularly when Brigham Young University was a participant. The 2005 game set a stadium record with an announced crowd of 40,053, a figure surpassed the following year when additional seating was arranged for a crowd of 44,615, which stood as the largest for a team sports event in Nevada history at that time. BYU returned for the 2007 and 2008 games, with attendances of 40,712 and 40,047 respectively. The 2008 game featured actor David Hasselhoff singing the national anthem before Arizona defeated BYU 31-21.

Beyond the bowl, the stadium hosted all three Western Athletic Conference championship games from 1996 to 1998 and the Las Vegas All-American Classic all-star game from 2004 to 2006. In a unique chapter during the 2020 season, the stadium served as a temporary home for two college programs displaced by COVID-19 restrictions. Both the University of New Mexico and San Jose State University played home games at Sam Boyd. This arrangement culminated in San Jose State hosting and winning the 2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game against Boise State on December 19, 2020, by a score of 34-20. This championship contest is recognized as the final scheduled sporting event in the history of Sam Boyd Stadium, providing an unexpected conclusion to the venue's long relationship with college football.

• UNLV Rebels' tenure: 1971 to 2019 (49 seasons).
• Record Las Vegas Bowl attendance: 44,615 (2006).
• WAC Championship Games hosted: 1996, 1997, 1998.
• Las Vegas All-American Classic: 2004 to 2006.
• Final college event: 2020 Mountain West Championship (December 19, 2020).
• UNLV's final game: November 23, 2019 (UNLV 38, San Jose State 35).
• Final Las Vegas Bowl: December 21, 2019 (Washington 38, Boise State 7).

Professional Football and Soccer

Sam Boyd Stadium served as a home for several professional football franchises across multiple leagues. The Canadian Football League's Las Vegas Posse played their lone 1994 season at the stadium, marking the CFL's brief expansion into the United States. The original XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws also used the facility for their inaugural and only season in 2001. The United Football League's Las Vegas Locomotives operated from 2009 to 2011, winning the 2009 UFL Championship Game at Sam Boyd in overtime against the Florida Tuskers by a score of 20-17. The stadium was initially selected to host the Alliance of American Football championship games in 2019 and 2020, but the league folded during its 2019 season and the first championship was moved to Texas.

The stadium's history with professional soccer was more fleeting but included notable events. The North American Soccer League's Las Vegas Quicksilvers, featuring Portuguese legend Eusébio, played the 1977 season at Sam Boyd, compiling an 11-15 record and averaging 7,092 fans per game before relocating back to San Diego. They were followed by the Las Vegas Seagulls of the American Soccer League, who had a 7-18-3 record in their only 1979 season. The venue later hosted the 1999 CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament. It drew a record soccer crowd for Nevada in 2012 when 29,152 paid attendees watched Spanish club Real Madrid defeat Mexico's Santos Laguna 2-1 in a friendly match played on a temporary grass pitch. The stadium's final major soccer event was the inaugural Leagues Cup final on September 18, 2019, where Cruz Azul of Liga MX defeated UANL 2-1.

Rugby Sevens and Motorsport Championships

From 2010 to 2019, Sam Boyd Stadium was the annual host of the USA Sevens tournament, the North American leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series. This event grew into the largest rugby tournament on the continent, drawing over 60,000 fans in 2012 and featuring over 15 national teams from six continents. The USA Sevens debuted in 2004 in Los Angeles and moved to San Diego in 2007 before settling in Las Vegas. Initially, a temporary grass pitch was installed for the tournament each year, but from the March 2016 edition onward, the event was played on the stadium's permanent artificial surface. The USA Sevens provided a significant annual international sports presence in Las Vegas before its relocation alongside other major events.

The stadium was a regular venue for motorsports, particularly stadium-based competitions. It was a long-time stop on the AMA Supercross Championship calendar, hosting the final round of the season every year from 1990 until 2019. The track layout primarily occupied the stadium infield with extensions behind the scoreboard, and the event included the Davey Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout, first won by Kevin Windham in 1997. From 2011 to 2019, the stadium also hosted the Monster Energy Cup supercross event, with winners including Ryan Villopoto in the inaugural 2011 event, Marvin Musquin in 2017, and Eli Tomac in 2018. Adam Cianciarulo won the final Monster Energy Cup at the stadium in 2019. Sam Boyd was also the home of the Monster Jam World Finals for its first 19 editions, from 2000 to 2018, a major event for monster truck racing. The venue hosted the inaugural Monster Jam All-Star Challenge in October 2019.

• USA Sevens rugby hosted: 2010 to 2019 (10 editions).
• Monster Jam World Finals: 2000 to 2018 (19 editions).
• Monster Energy Cup: 2011 to 2019.
• Inaugural Monster Jam All-Star Challenge: October 11-12, 2019.
• Record USA Sevens attendance: Over 60,000 fans (2012).
• Final Monster Energy Cup winner: Adam Cianciarulo (2019).

Concerts and Other Notable Events

Beyond sports, Sam Boyd Stadium was a significant concert venue in the Las Vegas area, hosting major touring acts and music festivals. The legendary rock band The Grateful Dead performed 14 shows at the stadium during the 1990s. U2 played multiple times, including dates on their ZooTV Tour on November 12, 1992, the opening night of their Popmart Tour on April 25, 1997, and during their 360° Tour on October 23, 2009, which drew 42,213 fans. The stadium grounds also hosted the two-day Vegoose music festival from 2005 to 2007, attracting a diverse lineup of artists to the Las Vegas Valley.

The stadium's versatility extended to a wide range of other community and sporting events. It became the home of the Clark County High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010, featuring a 22 feet by 12 feet wall wrap with vintage photos of inductees displayed in the southwest concourse. In April 2018, the venue hosted the Las Vegas Horse Polo Classic. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it was used for five Major League Rugby matches over two weekends. A professional development football league called The Spring League held exhibition games at the stadium in March 2020 and initially announced plans for a four-team fall season there in October 2020, though that season was ultimately held in San Antonio. The last scheduled non-football event for the 2019 to 2020 period was a Monster Jam show on March 21-22, 2020, but it was postponed and later canceled due to the pandemic.

Closure and Post-Use Status

The operational life of Sam Boyd Stadium effectively concluded with the 2019 football season and the opening of Allegiant Stadium in 2020. Due to scheduling issues at the new stadium, UNLV moved its September 5, 2020 home game back to Sam Boyd, but that game was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UNLV's contract with Allegiant Stadium includes a no-compete clause that prevents the university from holding events at Sam Boyd, for which UNLV receives annual compensation of up to $3.5 million over a ten-year period from the Raiders. This financial arrangement, along with the relocation of all major tenants, rendered the stadium largely obsolete for its original purposes.

Ownership of the stadium and its land transferred to Clark County, which purchased the property for $5 million in 2021. The county and UNLV officials have since considered several options for the site, including a potential land swap for property closer to the UNLV campus, an outright sale, demolition, or remodelling the facility for secondary or high school athletic use. As of now, no definitive plans have been announced, leaving the future of the former sports and entertainment hub uncertain. The stadium's final official use was for the 2021 UNLV commencement, a practical application that utilized its large, open-air design to accommodate social distancing requirements during the pandemic, providing a subdued but fitting final chapter for a venue that served the community for half a century.

Questions about Sam Boyd Stadium

Where was Sam Boyd Stadium located?

Sam Boyd Stadium was located in Whitney, Nevada, which is an unincorporated community within the Las Vegas Valley. The stadium sat at an elevation of 1,600 feet above sea level. Its address placed it a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip, making it a accessible venue for major events. The facility was not within the Las Vegas city limits proper but in Clark County.

Why did UNLV stop playing football at Sam Boyd Stadium?

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas stopped playing football at Sam Boyd Stadium after the 2019 season to move to the new Allegiant Stadium. This move was part of a larger shift that included the relocation of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders to the same venue. UNLV's contract with Allegiant Stadium effectively prohibits the university from holding events at the older Sam Boyd Stadium. In exchange for this agreement, UNLV receives annual compensation from the Raiders.

What was the largest crowd ever at Sam Boyd Stadium?

The largest crowd for a team sports event at Sam Boyd Stadium was 44,615, set at the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl. This attendance figure was also the largest for any team sports event in the history of the state of Nevada at that time. The record was achieved with additional temporary seating arranged for the game. Previous high attendances included 40,053 at the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl and 42,213 for a U2 concert in 2009.

Did any Canadian Football League teams play at Sam Boyd Stadium?

Yes, the Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League played their entire inaugural and only season at Sam Boyd Stadium in 1994. This was during the CFL's brief period of expansion into the United States in the mid-1990s. The Posse's tenure was short-lived, as the franchise folded after just one season. The stadium also hosted other professional football leagues, including the XFL and the United Football League.

What major annual events were held at the stadium besides football?

Sam Boyd Stadium hosted several major annual events outside of football. It was the site of the USA Sevens rugby tournament from 2010 to 2019, part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The stadium also hosted the final round of the AMA Supercross Championship every year from 1990 to 2019. The venue was the home of the Monster Jam World Finals from the event's inception in 2000 through 2018, a major event for monster truck racing.

What is the future of Sam Boyd Stadium now that it is closed?

The future of Sam Boyd Stadium remains uncertain. Clark County purchased the stadium and land for $5 million in 2021. University and county officials are considering several options, including selling the property, swapping it for land closer to the UNLV campus, demolishing the structure, or remodelling it for use by local high schools. No concrete plans have been announced as of yet, leaving the site's long-term fate undetermined.

Sources and further reading

• Sam Boyd Stadium (Wikipedia)
• From Gridiron to Legacy: The Story of Sam Boyd Stadium (unlv.edu)
• Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, UNLV Athletics (unlvrebels.com)

Checked by the Garbutt Disposal desk. Last updated 2026-10-18.