American Football Database
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Sam Boyd Stadium
Location 7000 East Russell Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89122-8338
Coordinates 36°05′11″N 115°01′0″W / 36.08639°N 115.01667°W / 36.08639; -115.01667Coordinates: 36°05′11″N 115°01′0″W / 36.08639°N 115.01667°W / 36.08639; -115.01667
Broke ground 1970
Opened October 23, 1971[1]
Renovated 1999
Expanded 1978, 1999
Owner University of Nevada Las Vegas
Operator University of Nevada Las Vegas
Surface Astroturf (1971-1998)
Grass (1999-2002)
DURAPlay 2003 to present
Grass (only for Rugby 7s Tournament) (2010-Present)
Construction cost $3.5 million
(most recent renovation: $1.2 million)
Architect Ellerbe Becket (renovations)
Former names Las Vegas Stadium (1971-1977)
Las Vegas Silver Bowl (1978-1984)
Sam Boyd Silver Bowl (1984-1993)
Tenants UNLV Rebels (NCAA) (1971-present)
Las Vegas Quicksilvers (NASL) (1977)
Maaco Bowl Las Vegas (NCAA) (1992-present)
Las Vegas Posse (CFL) (1994)
Las Vegas Outlaws (XFL) (2001)
Las Vegas All-American Classic (NCAA) (2004-2006)
Las Vegas Locomotives (UFL) [2] (2009-present)
USA Sevens (IRB Sevens) (2010–present)
Capacity 36,800[3] (expandable to 40,000)

Sam Boyd Stadium is a football stadium located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley; the mailing address of the stadium is "Las Vegas".[4] The stadium is named after Sam Boyd, a major figure in the hotel/casino industry in Las Vegas. The stadium consists of an uncovered horseshoe-shaped single-decked bowl. Temporary seating is occasionally erected in the open north end zone as needed. The stadium is the home of the UNLV football team and the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League, the annual Maaco Bowl Las Vegas each December, and was the former home of the CFL's Las Vegas Posse and the XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws. The Stadium is also used for high school football championship games, and at times regular-season high school games for Bishop Gorman High School. The final race of the Monster Energy Supercross series is located here every year. Since 2010, it has hosted the USA Sevens leg of the annual IRB Sevens World Series in the sevens version of rugby union.[5]

History[]

The stadium was completed in 1971 at a cost of $3.5 million. It was originally known as Las Vegas Stadium. The name was changed to the Las Vegas Silver Bowl in 1978 and then Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in 1984 and finally in April 1994 to Sam Boyd Stadium. The seating capacity was 15,000 from 1971 until 1977. The capacity was raised to 32,000 in 1978 and then to 36,800 in 1999.[2] Except from 1999 to 2002 the stadium has had an artificial turf surface.

College football[]

File:UNLVSamBoydStadium.jpg

Sam Boyd Stadium

Since December 18, 1992, the stadium has been the site of the annual Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, which had been formerly named the Las Vegas Bowl.[6] In recent years, the game has been very well attended. In 2005, the football team from Brigham Young University made its first postseason appearance since 2001. Excited BYU fans over-filled the stadium; the announced attendance for the 2005 game was a record 40,053 people. The following season, BYU returned to the Las Vegas Bowl as a nationally-ranked team. Additional seating was arranged at Sam Boyd Stadium for the 2006 game; the resulting attendance of 44,615 was the largest crowd to watch a team sports event in the history of the state of Nevada. In 2007, BYU made its third straight appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl; attendance was 40,712. In 2008, BYU made its fourth straight appearance ranked as the #16 team in the nation and faced off against the Arizona Wildcats who made their first bowl appearance since 1998. Arizona won the contest, 31-21, and a record 40,047 people attended the game which featured David Hasselhoff singing the national anthem.[7][8]

Sam Boyd Stadium was also the site of all three Western Athletic Conference title football games (1996–1998).[9]

Other sports events[]

The stadium has hosted the USA Sevens rugby tournament every February since 2010. The USA Sevens is the largest rugby tournament in North America, drawing over 64,000 fans in 2012. The tournament brings together 16 national teams from all 6 continents in rugby sevens as part of the IRB Sevens World Series. The USA Sevens debuted in 2004 in Los Angeles, and moved to San Diego in 2007.[5] A temporary grass pitch is installed for the event each year.[10]

It hosted the Las Vegas Posse of the CFL in 1994 and the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL in 2001. In 1999 it hosted the CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer tournament.

Sam Boyd Stadium has been the home of the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League since the league commenced play in 2009. On November 27, 2009, the Locomotives played the Florida Tuskers in the 2009 UFL Championship Game at Boyd, which the Locos won 20-17 in overtime.[11] The Locos have played all of their home games to date at the stadium, however their final two home games of the 2011 UFL season were cancelled when the season was truncated.

On August 5, 2012, Real Madrid (Spain) defeated Santos Laguna (Mexico) 2-1 in a friendly match played on a temporary grass pitch in Sam Boyd Stadium. The stadium PA announcer told the crowd the paid attendance of over 29,000 made it the highest attended soccer match in Nevada history.

Sam Boyd Stadium is set to house the Clark County High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, including a 22 feet by 12 feet wall wrap with vintage photos of the inductees that will be displayed in the Southwest concourse of the stadium.[12]

Other events[]

Since 2000, the stadium has been home to the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals Presented by NGK Spark Plugs which will be going into its 14th year of competition. It is also home to the Supercross finale.

During the 1990s, The Grateful Dead played 14 shows at the stadium.[13]

On October 29, 2005, the grounds of the venue were host to the daytime portion of the two-day Vegoose music festival. This festival is an annual event, but ended its run in 2008.

See also[]

  • USA Sevens rugby tournament

References[]

  1. "UNLV Official Athletic Site - University of Nevada-Las Vegas". Unlvrebels.com. http://www.unlvrebels.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/unlv/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/boyd-stadium-info. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  2. "Live chat with commissioner Michael Huyghue". United Football League. 2009-03-13. http://www.ufl-football.com/blog/2009/03/13/live_chat_with_commissioner_michael_huyghue. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  3. "unlvrebels.cstv.com". unlvrebels.cstv.com. http://unlvrebels.cstv.com/facilities/unlv-m-footbl-boyd.html. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  4. Parcel number inquiry - search by location address results
  5. 5.0 5.1 "USA Sevens Signs Letter Of Intent to Bring Tournament to New Venue in 2010" (Press release). USA Sevens, LLC. 2009-07-13. http://www.usasevens.com/event/las-vegas.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  6. "MAACO Bowl Las Vegas". Lvbowl.com. http://www.lvbowl.com/stadiuminfo.php. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  7. [1][dead link]
  8. "Arizona upsets BYU 31-21 - Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008 | 4:37 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun News". Lasvegassun.com. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/dec/20/pioneer-las-vegas-bowl-xvii/. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  9. "Sam Boyd Stadium". Football.ballparks.com. http://football.ballparks.com/NCAA/MountainWest/UNLV/index.htm. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  10. "IRB Sevens World Series heads for Las Vegas" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 2009-07-15. http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/edition=4/news/newsid=2032735.html#irb+sevens+world+series+heads+las+vegas. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  11. By perry161492. "Locomotives win inaugural UFL championship in overtime - Las Vegas Sun News". Lasvegassun.com. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/27/locomotives-win-inaugural-ufl-championship-overtim/. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  12. Brewer, Ray (July 7, 2010). "High school football hall of fame to be housed at Sam Boyd Stadium". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/07/local-high-school-football-hall-fame-be-housed-sam/. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  13. "Grateful Dead setlists and more". Deadbase.com. http://www.deadbase.com/homebase.html. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

External links[]

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