When Las Vegas’ 65,000-seat domed stadium opens in 2020, its primary purpose will be to serve as the home of who will then be known as the Las Vegas Raiders, however the trickle-down effect to college football will be far-reaching.
The most obvious, immediate impact will be for UNLV, who will be co-tenants with the Raiders and seemed destined to remain at dusty, old Sam Boyd Stadium seven miles from campus into perpetuity before the NFL team started sizing up a move to the desert. While the 40,000-seat stadium was plenty big for the Rebels, it wasn’t an asset for the program as far as the game-day experience was concerned nor in recruiting.