Why Is There So Little Parking at Raiders Stadium?

On my recent trip to Vegas I was told there will be very limited parking at the new Raiders football stadium? Is this because casinos want to limit or control tailgating? If this is all or partially true, how do they plan to safely get people to and from the stadium?

And

Has there been any further thought given (by either the city or the Raiders) as to how they're going to get fans in and out of the stadium if the parking is going to be so deficient for the numbers expected per game?

And

Can you update us on the latest on the parking situation at the Raiders Stadium? How are they going to handle cars for 65,000 seats with only a couple thousand parking spaces?

As you can see, we receive regular questions about parking at Las Vegas Stadium; these three are just a sample.

The first one, about the casinos and tailgating, is an interesting theory about why there's so little parking on the Raiders' stadium property, but from what we've read and heard, we believe it's the opposite: The casinos would rather see all the parking spaces at or around the stadium, so the 65,000 or so people filling the stands for home games and concerts won't "choke out" their customers, in the words of Bill Hornbuckle, president and chief operations officer of MGM and one of the nine members of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board. MGM owns most of the casinos closest to the stadium across I-15: Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, MGM Grand, and New York-New York.

Of course, with MGM properties charging for parking, there's still a benefit to the casino company from people paying to use the garages, but thousands of extra cars would seriously impact hotel guests and casino patrons at south Strip properties.

However, in an earnings conference call last Thursday, MGM CEO Jim Murren switched gears, telling investors, “The Raiders’ stadium will be a catalyst for our south Strip resorts, especially Mandalay Bay, as we will take full advantage of its location by hosting the most awesome tailgating experience before and after all of the events at the stadium.” Where the parties will take place, what the "most awesome tailgating experience" will entail, and how much it will cost all remain to be seen.

With only 2,725 parking places at the stadium itself, all that there's room for given the size of the property and how much of it the stadium occupies, it's been projected that 25,000 or so fans will walk to the stadium from the south Strip across Hacienda Avenue; turning the bridge over I-15 into a pedestrian promenade on event days is one part of the plan to get people safely to and from the stadium.

In the meantime, the stadium company has been buying up real estate near the facility, enough for another nearly 12,000 parking spaces in four satellite lots. That brings the total number of spaces around the arena to 14,650, but the total is still 1,600 less than Clark County is requiring for the project. For those spaces, the Raiders organization has been leasing nearby properties and making deals with adjacent businesses to compile a parking cooperative managed by the stadium.

A full parking plan is expected soon, with specifics involving where these satellite lots, property leases, and cooperatives will be. And it'll come none too soon, given that the stadium is scheduled to opens exactly a year from this Tuesday.

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Comments

Randall Ward Jul-28-2019

parking

Rio seems logical to me, a long walk for most people but an easy shuttle

Brent Jul-28-2019

LV Shoots Itself in the Foot

Well, looks like we won't be visiting LV on the weekend during football season. Sounds like it's going to be total disaster.

[email protected] Jul-28-2019

8 weekends

It’s only gonna be an issue 8 weekends a year. Well, that’s if you don’t count playoffs and let’s be serious lol. 
Sure there will be some growing pains but like everything else, it will work itself out.

Eric Forman Jul-28-2019

Random thoughts...

First, the parking lots closest to the stadium should only admit cars with three or more customers.

Next, I hope tourists driving back to the airport on game days are aware they should take alternate routes to the rental car return.

I doubt that MGM's idea for their "tailgate experience" will go over well. Tailgaters want to grill their own sausages and bring their own beer, not spend $18 for a sausage sandwich and $15 for a beer.

Jon Anderson Jul-28-2019

raider stadium

just watched a you-tube video on walking from mandalay bay to the stadium. took the guy about 15 minutes walking west on hacienda ave between m-bay and the luxor. two intersections with traffic lights, both having approx 2 min waits between light changes, so the walk could be even shorter depending on one's timing. it is a simple and direct route from the strip to the stadium so it looks like the best walking way to go folks. beware: can't or won't be too terribly long before turnstiles with surge pricing tolls appear in the dead of night. ARGH!!!!

jeepbeer Jul-28-2019

parking

I know where the parking lot is going to be - between Jean and Primm - right after a good percent of SoCal, after X number of $15 beers, tries to drive home.

Question of the Day - 28 July 2019

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