UNLV's $800 Million Mansion

By Corey Elliot
Image Courtesy- MW Connection

In the past four seasons, UNLV has gone 6-30. If you add those stellar numbers to the Runnin’ Rebels’ all-time record, what do you get? 221-262-4, but of course you might not know that. I don’t know about you, but I completely forgot UNLV had a football team at all.

Ah, there is something to be proud of, though. UNLV is 3-0 all-time in bowl games. Yes, that has to be the reason the Rebels are about to get an $800 million football stadium that will make Jerry Jones draw up blue prints for renovations to Cowboys Stadium immediately.

You can’t be serious! Not only are they getting all the bells and whistles—like a retractable roof—but the stadium will feature a video board that is the length of the football field (for those of you who struggle with math, that’s 100 yards).

What on earth could be the purpose of such a stadium in Las Vegas? If you stay up-to-date with the latest trends, you may know exactly what the purpose is.

There are four events that come to mind that rationalize this decision—if nothing else, it helps me sleep better at night. The FIFA World Cup is an event the United States is constantly trying to get back to the states for the first time since 1994. The home of the Miami Hurricanes, Sun Life Stadium, is about to undergo a renovation that will cost upward toward $300 million for “multiple purposes,” according to the Miami Herald, that include a “major soccer event”. To no surprise, the venue at UNLV will host different events other than football.

The other possibility, perhaps, would be a Super Bowl. But that just seems highly unlikely under the reign of Admiral Goodell—I mean, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. I don’t see the alpha and the omega himself allowing one of the worlds largest viewed and attended events being hosted by Sin City.

Then there’s the Final Four and obviously the fourth should go without saying–boxing.

So, with that being said, maybe the Runnin’ Rebels have a recruiting class we don’t know about that will be freshmen in 20—TBD—and wreak havoc on college football. I’m not sure what was done or said to spark the thought and begin a design, but it is absolutely absurd to build an $800 million stadium that would rival some of the NFL’s best venues for a college football team.

I realize most premiere college programs seat more than most NFL stadiums, but this is a classic case of quality over quantity that I just can’t fathom.

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