$5M Sam Boyd Stadium transfer from UNLV to Clark County approved by regents

UNLV is a step closer to no longer owning and maintaining Sam Boyd Stadium, former home of Rebels football.

Clark County’s acquisition of the 69-acre Sam Boyd site from UNLV for a $5 million fee was unanimously approved Wednesday by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.

The Clark County Commission must also approve the deal to finalize the transaction. The matter probably will be heard at the Dec. 17 meeting or the first meeting in January, according to Commissioner Michael Naft.

UNLV and Clark County commissioned separate third-party appraisals for the land, with UNLV receiving one in 2023 that valued the land at $10.4 million and the county getting one in February 2023 that valued the land at $0.

The agreed-upon $5 million amount factored in the two appraisals and the fact that UNLV invested over $20 million into the facility during their ownership. Also considered in the deal was that UNLV spent $500,000 last year on Sam Boyd Stadium in operation and maintenance costs.

Some issues that contributed to that expense was copper wire theft and unhoused people using portions of the site for shelter. Those two issues led to the school hiring security to patrol the area.

Regent Susan Berger suggested some of the millions of dollars UNLV is scheduled to receive would be put toward women’s sports at the university.

UNLV plans to put the $5 million into a “quasi endowment,” as UNLV President Keith Whitfield described it, to be flexible in where it will be used. But he did confirm that one of the areas it could be put toward was women’s sports. Other initiatives could include infrastructure, student financial aid and support programs.

Clark County previously owned the land when Sam Boyd Stadium opened in 1971, which then transferred the land to UNLV, free of charge, in 1985. The Bureau of Land Management, which previously owned the land before the county, controls most of the land surrounding the site.

The land also has a public use clause attached to it, so UNLV transferring the land back to its previous owner (Clark County) was the best route to go for all parties, Whitfield said.

As part of UNLV’s joint-agreement with the Raiders, the university was no longer allowed to host events at Sam Boyd once the Rebels began playing at Allegiant Stadium in 2020.

“For over 40 years it’s (Sam Boyd Stadium) been integral to UNLV and the community, hosting football games, tailgates, concerts and countless other events,” Whitfield said. “However, thanks to our partnership with Allegiant Stadium, which offers UNLV football and the Rebel community the opportunity to play in a world-class stadium, we no longer utilize Sam Boyd Stadium.”

Tied to the agreement to no longer use Sam Boyd, UNLV receives payments for any season, for the first 10 years that they play in the $2 billion facility, that they don’t hit $5 million in net revenue from UNLV football games. Up to $3.5 million is available to UNLV each year to help supplement any shortfall to reach the $5 million mark.

When Regent Heather Brown asked if that noncompete clause would carry over from UNLV to the county, UNLV Chief Financial Officer Casey Wyman said they worked with the county to include language in the land transfer that all but guaranteed the county wouldn’t look to use the stadium for competing events.

What the county has planned for the area is yet to be known, but it was reported that they could look at using the land for public park space.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.