UNLV is considering selling the 69-acre Sam Boyd Stadium site to Clark County for $5 million.
The potential transaction will be discussed at next month’s Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents meeting, scheduled for Sept. 5 and 6 in Carson City. Discussion of the potential deal could bring the matter to a vote at a future board meeting, according to background information on the September meeting agenda.
UNLV hopes to close the deal within six months, subject to the outcome of initial discussion next month and a possible vote at a future regents meeting.
The university has not been able to use Sam Boyd Stadium since entering into a sharing agreement with the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority and has played at Allegiant Stadium since 2020.
When Sam Boyd Stadium opened in 1971, Clark County owned the land. Before that, it was owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
The Rebels played as a “stadium user” at Sam Boyd until 1985, when the county transferred ownership to UNLV for free, although the university reported spending about $20 million renovating the stadium. UNLV reported operating and maintenance costs for the stadium in 2023-24 of $500,000.
Possible takeover considered
According to the agenda background, the county has expressed interest in acquiring the property from UNLV in 2022 for possible public uses, including an expansion of Silver Bowl Park and/or municipal infrastructure needs.
At the time, the county offered UNLV $3.6 million for the property, based on the cost of operating and maintaining the closed stadium over four years. UNLV countered the offer, noting, “Valuations of UNLV property sales are based on commissioned, independent third-party appraisals,” according to background material on the agenda.
UNLV commissioned several third-party appraisals, including one in April 2023 for $10.4 million. Clark County commissioned its own third-party appraisal in February 2023, which estimated the property’s value at $0.
“Our conclusion from the best and highest use is that the property cannot be used economically so that it can be redeveloped, sold or leased. Currently, the subject property is deemed to have no reasonable market value and is assigned a value of $0,” the county’s assessment states.
Because the stadium site is surrounded by BLM land, there are also restrictions on acquiring the property. As the former owner of the stadium site and with property nearby, Clark County is one of the few counties likely to acquire the site, background material says.
The $5 million price tag is midway between the county and UNLV estimates.
How the proceeds will be used
If the transaction is successful, UNLV would use the funds to improve infrastructure, student financial aid and development programs.
UNLV noted that the university and the county have a long history of working together on land deals that have benefited both sides in the past.
These deals included the original deal that gave UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium for free; the county sold UNLV nine acres below market value for its School of Medicine in the Las Vegas Medical District; and UNLV provided $3.5 million and a land swap with the county for the realignment of Cottage Grove Drive and the construction of a traffic light to improve Maryland Parkway.
UNLV spokesman Tony Allen referred questions about the potential deal to the agenda’s background material, noting that the meeting had not yet taken place. Clark County did not immediately respond Friday for comment on the potential purchase of Sam Boyd Stadium.
Contact Mick Akers at [email protected] or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
