37,000? UNLV expects record crowd at Allegiant Stadium for Boise State

UNLV is expecting a record crowd for Friday’s Mountain West showdown against No. 17 Boise State at Allegiant Stadium.

A crowd of 35,000 to 37,000 is expected for the game, which could have College Football Playoff implications and is being called the biggest game in school history.

The school record for a crowd at Allegiant Stadium is 35,193, set against Iowa State in 2021.

UNLV opened the 200 section of the stadium to meet the increased demand. Initially, the school opened sections 208 to 242 on the north end of the stadium, but after further demand, sections 218 to 232 were made available on the south end.

Allegiant Stadium features 100, 200, 300 and 400 sections, with Raiders games seeing an average of nearly 55,000 fans per game, according to a 2023 Kimley-Horn study.

Friday’s game will be just the third time since 2021 that the 200 section was opened to fans. The other two were the Iowa State game and last season’s Mountain West championship game against Boise State.

If the full 37,000 figure is met, the game still won’t crack the top five attended games in UNLV history.

The highest-attended games were at Sam Boyd Stadium, with the 2002 game against Wisconsin No. 1 with an announced crowd of 42,075.

Secondary market

The secondary market is also seeing increased demand for the game.

The least expensive ticket on no-fee ticket marketplace TickPick is $76, which is 65 percent more expensive than UNLV’s next home game against San Diego State.

The average purchase price on TickPick is $101, making it the most expensive game left on UNLV’s schedule. The highest-priced ticket sold was $339, and the biggest order was $2,384, according to Tick Pick.

Of the ticket buyers on TickPick, 50 percent are from Nevada, 20 percent from California and 2 percent Idaho.

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