Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board Meeting - May 28, 2026
Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board Meeting - May 28, 2026
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority board met on May 28, 2026, at 3:00 PM at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall Board Room. Chair Hill called the meeting to order, and roll call confirmed a quorum with all members present except Secretary Jones Blackhurst, Member Vyez, and Member Weekly. The board approved the agenda and minutes from the previous meeting, then proceeded through eight action and informational items, including budget approvals, a capital project for the Raiders, and updates on the baseball stadium construction and community benefits.
Public Comments
- John Cowano, a Spring Valley resident and former hospitality worker, spoke in support of agenda item 5 (UNLV compensation) and raised concerns about Formula One events negatively impacting local workers' gratuities. He suggested further consideration of compensation for those who lose income during such events.
Consent Calendar
- The board approved the agenda and minutes from the prior meeting by unanimous vote.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Budget Augmentation: Staff proposed a budget amendment to repay the football stadium fund for monies advanced to cover baseball formative costs before baseball revenues existed. The augmentation uses $50,000 of unbudgeted but earned revenue from the baseball stadium fund and reduces a transfer to the baseball debt service reserve by $1,032,958, repaying the football fund. The board approved the motion.
- Item 2 – FY2027 Tentative Budget: Staff presented the fiscal year 2027 budget, covering both football and baseball operations. The football budget includes a conservative room tax estimate, debt service payments, UNLV compensation, and $10 million for potential capital improvements around the stadium (e.g., pedestrian undercrossing, gantry signs, lighting). The baseball budget anticipates bond issuance late in the fiscal year. The board held a public hearing (no comments) and approved the budget. Member Newcomb abstained, disclosing his employment with UNLV.
- Item 3 – Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (FY2027-2031): The board approved the state-required capital plan, which ties the first year to the budget and provides advisory projections for subsequent years. The plan is a prerequisite for bond issuance.
- Item 4 – Raiders Capital Budget Amendment: The Raiders requested a $304,000 project to add restrooms at the Braider Image Retail store, improving guest and staff experience. The board approved the project, with a condition that Grand Canyon Development review the design details before reimbursement.
- Item 5 – UNLV Compensation Payment: The board approved a $2,048,152.90 payment to UNLV for the fall 2025 season, compensating the university for lost net income from the closure of Sam Boyd Stadium. This is the fourth of ten annual payments. Member Newcomb abstained due to his UNLV employment.
- Item 6 – Room Tax Revenue Report: Staff reported March room taxes increased 14.4% year-over-year, driven by Con Econ Expo. Year-to-date, revenues are 4.5% below the prior year and 1.8% under budget. Informational only.
- Item 7 – Allegiant Stadium Activity Report Q1 2026: The stadium has hosted over 800 public and private events and 7.5 million guests. Highlights include the NRL returning for a fourth year and a Luke Combs concert with over 66,000 attendees, the highest in stadium history. Informational.
- Item 8 – SEID Revenue Report: The baseball stadium district has collected approximately $2.5 million in incremental taxes and fees to date, but the amount is expected to exceed $10 million by year-end once reporting issues are resolved. Informational.
- Items 9 & 10 – Baseball Stadium Community Oversight Committee and Construction Update: The committee reported workforce diversity achievements: 78% of hours performed by target workers (women, minorities, veterans, individuals with disabilities), exceeding the 51% requirement. Small local business (SLB) participation is currently below the 15% threshold but projected to exceed it as construction progresses. The construction manager confirmed the project is on schedule and on budget, with 530–550 craft workers on site daily. The first truss erection is expected in June. The A's also discussed off-site improvements: the southeast garage will be phased to 1,500 stalls initially (with room for 1,000 more), and the central utility plant will be phased as well. The northwest plaza design is underway, but financing is still being assembled; an interim plaza may be needed if the full plaza is not ready by opening day. The board expressed concern about the interim plaza and directed staff to return with a definitive plan by the August meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the budget augmentation for football fund repayment (motion passed).
- Approved the FY2027 budget (motion passed; Newcomb abstained).
- Approved the five-year capital plan (motion passed).
- Approved the Raiders' restroom project with condition (motion passed).
- Approved the UNLV compensation payment (motion passed; Newcomb abstained).
- Directed staff to present a definitive plan for the plaza development by the August 2026 meeting.
- Recognized Allegiant Stadium for receiving the Paralyzed Veterans of America Barrier-Free Award, the Billboard Award for highest grossing stadium revenue, and the Polestar Award for Stadium of the Year.
- Noted that the baseball stadium construction is on schedule, with roof trusses to begin in June 2026, and that the A's have sold out their first suite product and achieved 80% sell-through on a premium club behind home plate.
Meeting Transcript
Um good afternoon, everyone. We will uh call the uh May twenty first, two thousand twenty-six Las Vegas Stadium Authority board meeting to order. And I will ask uh Miss Bateman to call the roll. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board. All members are present either in person or virtually, other than Secretary Jones Blackhurst, Member Vyez, and Member Weekly. You have a quorum, and the meeting may proceed. Do we have any uh member of the public that would uh like to address the board? And if you do, please identify yourself and uh hold your comments to three minutes, please. Afternoon. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is John Cowano, K A W A N O. I'm a resident of Spring Valley, former hospitality worker for twelve years. The last four years were at the Venetian Hotel. Um, speaking about agenda item number five. As compensation for the loss of net income as a result of the closing of Sam Boyd Stadium. I support this measure, and my reasoning is this sets a precedent. This is compensation for losses incurred because of an event or events. Now on a related issue, I believe related, uh Formula One is a controversial event in some quarters because it does make money for people in the general area, but how the money is distributed and who makes the money is controversial. I know three valets and at the Venetian Hotel and two valets at the Palazzo Hotel who told me that over the three-year course of Formula One, none of them earn any cash gratuities over the three-day weekend of Formula One. In short, they're being asked to take a hit so that other people can make money. So if that's the case, I think further consideration can be considered on this issue regarding those and they're not outliers who uh do actually lose money during the event. Thank you. Thank you. That's a little bit of a stretch on that agenda item, but we'll let that one go. Um anybody else from the public uh like to make a comment. Okay. Um we will open up comments from me and the board. Um I just have a few. Um we have a statue of the Luxor Hotel here that is not actually that. It is uh an award that um I just wanted to highlight that uh allegiance stadium and the stadium authority um was awarded um earlier this week um by the paralyzed veterans of America. Uh it is the barrier-free award uh presented annually to the venue in the United States that um provides the greatest access uh to those with mobility challenges. Um I think something that um um we ought to be very proud of um, particularly um in recognition of Mark Davis and the Raiders and the commitment that they have made uh to make allegiance stadium hospitable to all of our visitors. Um and um we're honored to be associated with that award, and Adam, if you'd pass that along, Michael pass that along, Chris pass that along to the team. Um we did that on Monday, but uh just wanted to highlight it again. So uh congratulations to you. Thanks for um that effort in you know making the first class premier stadium a thing for everybody. Uh it really does matter. Thank you. Um Allegiant kind of piling up awards here lately. They won the the Billboard Award for uh the stadium that had the highest grossing um revenue of any stadium in the United States. It was the number uh two stadium in the world uh in 2025. Um and also recently it won the Polestar Award, which is a um peer-voted award, uh the only peer-voted award uh for stadiums and venues in the United States, where all of the representatives of stadiums um in the U.S. Um vote for the stadium of the year, and Allegiant was voted the stadium of the year in 2025 as well. Um so proud to be a part of that um and proud of all that uh the Raiders have done to make that happen at Allegiant for sure. Um and then congratulations on a um great off season and a great draft, and I lived through for Fernando Mania back in the early 80s, and we get to do it again in the late 2020s. So uh we're we're excited about the upcoming year. Um then um want to mention that a couple of us got an opportunity uh to take a tour of the ballpark yesterday and the construction side it is um you know we were probably there four or five months ago, and the amount of progress that has been made has been pretty remarkable. Um so um thanks for everybody who took the time to um provide us the tour, but uh also congratulations to everybody out there working that uh progress on the ballpark is uh is great. Uh it's exciting, um it's really starting to take shape.
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