This is Inside the Vegas Huddle, your podcast connection to the events and initiatives
led by the Las Vegas Super Bowl fifty eight host Committee in advance of the
big game at Allegiance Stadium. Welcome to Inside the Vegas Huddle. Welcome back
to Inside the Vegas Huddle. It's Joanna Bowman with iHeartRadio and I'm Chris Matthews
with Channel eight KLASTV here in Las Vegas, and we're back for another exciting
episode, episode number four. Chris, and it's amazing how fast time's going
with the one hundred days out now from the Super Bowl. It's crazy when
you think about the announcement counting down, the people coming into town, the
city preparing for this. So Inside the Vegas Huddle we've kind of given folks
an idea, listeners an idea, and those who view it on all the
different platforms, and idea of what's going on in Las Vegas as we prepare
for Super Bowl fifty eight. It's going to be so exciting. That's right.
It's called Inside the Vegas Huddle for our reasons. So we kind of
get the behind the scenes action, a little sneak peak of what it takes
to put on a Super Bowl. So to kick off this exciting Super Bowl
fifty eight, you need a tremendous stadium. That's what Las Vegas has at
Allegiance Stadium. So we have the vice president of Stadium Operations, Chris Sotaoropolis
here to just talk about everything associated with the Allegiant Stadium. Chris, we
might be biased here in Las Vegas, but this stadium. When you hear
others around the NFL talk when they come and visit, they've got to be
saying to themselves this is number one. I'm also a little bit biased,
but we feel like we designed and built one of the best stadiums in the
NFL, in the world, and we are. I'm extremely excited to showcase
do com February for the Super Bowl. Absolutely, And of course, like
Chris said, if you live here in Las Vegas, you've seen Allegiant Stadium,
you know, from start to finish, to see what it's become.
But for anybody outside of Las Vegas, dive into some of the unique features
of Allegiant Stadium, because, yeah, we want to brag about it a
little bit. We think it's the best. Tell us why it's the best.
Yeah, it's a great building. I think when we started designing Allegiant
Stadium back in twenty seventeen, we obviously knew the Super Bowl was going to
be played here somedays, so to now kind of be here and know that's
a reality and talk about what makes our venue so special. And I think
one of the main features, and I think what makes Allegiance Stadium so special
is when we talk about the playing surface. We play on a natural grass
field inside of a dome stadium, and that's just something really unique, and
I think it really just highlights the importance of player safety being able to play
on natural grass when you think of the history of football, I mean football
started being played on grass, so that was really one of the important things
we wanted to maintain. So when that when the game happens in February,
it'll be on a nice grass field. You know what else is really neat
about the stadium. I think I always tell people that come and ask me,
Kras we're going to Allegiance Stadium. I stop and I say, Hey,
what you have to do, no matter what is walk around the concourse.
If you can go up, maybe take a stadium tour. But you
gotta also see all the art, talk about the art and how that all
came to be because it's Las Vegas history, it's writers history, and it's
really really cool, and it's all local artists. That's exactly what we were
trying to do. When you look at you know, how do we you
know, the Raiders being new in Vegas, you know a lot of history
with your organization, But then we also looked at Vegas and you look at
the history of the city, so much history. So when we looked at
how are we going to incorporate an art program, it's got to combine both.
So you know, when you're walking around and you're seeing it, you're
seeing really great moments in greater history. You're also seeing really iconic Vegas imagery.
And I think those combined really creates something that I don't know any other
city could create, something as eclectic and cool. It really has something for
everyone. And that's what I kind of tell it's, you know, you
you walk around and you see, you know, a photo of you know,
Al Davis, and then you got Elvis Presley and you got really just
iconic things. And we really were able to showcase that in the in the
art program, which you're really excited about. Yeah, being able to to
tour Allegiance Stadium is always something really cool that I also tell people to make
sure they do when they come from out of town. But super Bowl fifty
eight, we obviously are showing off the best of our city and that includes
the seating options that are available at Allegiance Stadium and some of the premium options
that are available. Tell us a little bit about that, Yeah, So
again, we wanted to design something that you know, Vegas is luxury,
Vegas's first class. We had to design seating options that really showcase that.
So in total, we've got over one hundred and thirty suites, so we've
got some great premium product. We've also got the wind Field Club, which
in our North End zone really right on the field, and that's really one
of the best spots to really feel like you're part of the action. In
addition, this past offseason, we also added some more club suites, so
we've really enhanced that premium experience. So whether you know you're in one of
those club suites or Winfield Club, nine different areas that really have an elevated
experience. On our one fifty suite level, it's an all inclusive food menu.
We bring in celebrity chefs to really showcase a lot of different culinary things
that enhance what the city really is all about. We are talking with the
vice president of Stadium Operations, Chris Sodoropolis, and Chris, I got to
ask you about that big torch and when people come to the Super Bowl,
they're going to see this and that they've been to again, they've seen it,
the big torch. But then also, what about those Leonio doors.
I got to ask you, when are you going to open up those Lanni
doors. I don't think they've ever been opened yet for a game. Have
they I don't think so we're hoping someday they're going to get open. I
can't. I can't. I don't know when that's going to be. But
we're going to keep everyone on their toes, so hopefully there will be the
perfect day where we can really showcase that. But when we looked at,
you know the history of the Raiders sixty plus years, we've played in a
lot of different stadiums, and I think when you look at our days in
La at the La Memorial County Coliseum, that Lani door with the paristyle and
with the torch really just embodies kind of a little owed to that kind of
history where we were playing there. But really the torch very symbolic. Obviously
Al Davis his you know, legacy on this organization and you know, the
words that he spoke, the greatness of the Raiders in its future to the
fire that burns brightest is the will to win, and I think that torch
really embodies that spirit that Al has still left for us. So when you're
in the stadium, impossible to miss. I think that's just that iconic moment
when you walk in and you're really enamored by it. And it's actually the
largest three D printed structure in the world. So when you were trying to
develop that, it's like, how do you really incorporate and get the look
of it. And that's kind of the methodology that we went with, you
know, creating that torch. So again, if you're in the building,
impossible to miss, that's kind of you know, every building has that has
that area that really just people gravitate towards, and for us, I think
the torch really embodies that. Yeah, I think that has to be maybe
one of the most photographable things at Allegiance Stadium, and you guys are always
cutting at as well in terms of what you're doing to maybe make our world
a better place. I know, there's a lot of really great sustainability measures
that have been recently put into plays and you've, guys, over a Legion
Stadium achieved some pretty great status. Do you want to brag about that a
little bit? Yeah, So we've got a few things to brag about,
and we don't do it just to brag about it. I think, you
know, sustainability is a huge part of just giving back to the community.
I think, you know, we want to be good stewards to the city
that we play in, into the you know, constituents that really helped make
Allegiant Stadium what it is. So we recently received Lead Gold certification, which
is a really prestigious designation that really speaks to the operational sustainability in the within
the stadium. So everything we do from waste aversion, water, resourcefulness,
those are all things that go into that certification. That's something that just really
speaks to the volume of sustainability touches. Everything touch is the guest, the
employees, and it's a really team effort getting everyone involved in making that a
priority, so as we get ready for the Super Bowl, that was really
something important for us to get that Lead Gold certification status. In addition,
we also recently announced we are elitiant. Stadium is fully on renewable energy,
and that's a really important thing for us to talk about because again, for
the you know, elite, we plan to be here for many many years,
thirty plus years, so to be able to have that as a component
in our in our you know, energy supply, that's really you know,
gives back to the to the environment. So we're really happy that we're able
to do that, and Roy's looking for ways to get better as as it
relates sustainability, because we know we want to you know, do things that
are right for the community and you know, engaging those practice so we can
set the standard for what other buildings can do here in this city. Yeah,
it feels like you guys have kind of set the standard from the moment
you open the doors till now. So that's really exciting. Getting ready for
Super Bowl fifty eight on February eleventh, I got to ask you about the
configuration. I know they're gonna change a little bit on that north end correct,
and then CBS was recently By the way, we brag about CBS because
the game is gonna be on our channel, so we're excited about that.
But the CBS was recently intent also kind of a walk through prior to the
New England game to kind of go over some things talk about that and how
the configuration may change for the Super Bowl. Yeah, I don't want to
give everything away, but it's gonna look a little bit different. I think
when you talk about, you know, the game being on a worldwide stage,
so the amount of additional media that we bring in, so there's things
that we have to do to you know, create additional boosts. There's things
that we have to do to accommodate you know, additional radio broadcast. And
when we talk about the CBS component, you know, this season has been
really great. We've been able to try out a lot of different technologies.
So when CBS comes in in February, you're gonna see a lot of different
cool things that they might not normally do for normal broadcasts. But being able
to accommodate that, and I think it just speaks again to the technologically advanced
nature of the building. You know, where you go to some older buildings,
you're not able to really accomplish doing some of the things that you know,
whether it's the broadcast or halftime, whatever these groups want to do.
But we've got the infrastructure to really give them a canvas to, you know,
really create some awesome moments. So whether you know you're gonna be in
the stadium enjoying it in person or on TV, it's really gonna make for
a incredible experience. So we'll see some things that we may have never seen
in a super Bowl before. There's probably some things that are gonna get implemented
here that is gonna blow some people away. So we're excited to showcase that.
And I think when you look at I think that speaks to really Vegas
as a whole. Vegas is a city that's always innovating, there's always such
there's a lot of new things. So I think when you look at you
know how we wanted to envision the Super Bowl here. This isn't just your
average city. We wanted to make sure we go above and beyond. So
I think you're gonna see some really exciting stuff that gets into the into the
broadcast. I got to ask you one more thing, about the stadium itself
when you just mentioned Las Vegas and everybody who goes, all these visitors who
come to the Super Bowl got to go down to the one wall where you
start with the settlers. You walk down the wall one side on the left
side, you come back and you have to go through the history. You
know, Frank Sinatra, Donnie Oh, it's my blah blah blah, Katie
Perried, But talk about that wall because that's that's that's history right there that
you got to check out. Yeah, another great element of the art program
again, just kind of shout out. Michael Goddard was the one that really
you know, took the vision of what you know Mark thought and really brought
all local artists. You know when we look at you know what he did.
You know, we didn't want to outsource anything. So it's all the
local artists. And when you talk about that history area again, people that
aren't don't know Vegas, they think of, you know, certain things and
for us to be able to now you know, when you're walking through and
you know you show up early, you know you're looking something to do before
the game starts. We're gonna teach you a little something, whether it's you
know, about Vegas or about the construction of the building. We really tried
to incorporate mints that really highlighted what makes you know, this building so unique
and special. Let's hope that game lives up to the art super Bowl because
it is fabulous. I always tell people, yeah, to check out the
artist. I was insane, terrific. And the halftime show. I know
you've last time we talked Chris, we didn't have the artist. It wasn't
announced last podcast we did the last episode, so now to know that it's
usher and I'm sure Chris sees things behind the scenes, are maybe hearing little
tidbits of how he's going to make that really cool and unique too. I'm
hearing little things. I'm on the conversations. But from what I know about
what ushers all about, what he can bring to the table and really what
again, what we want to showcase here in the city, I don't think
anyone's going to be disappointed with what the show is going to bring in.
You know, while the day is all about football, I think, you
know, throwing a little concert in the middle, there is also a fun
this a little concert, no big deal. Well, thank you Chris,
we appreciate you giving us kind of a brief history of Allegian Stadium, and
people are going to be able to see and expect from the greatest, greatest
stadium in the world right here in Las Vegas during Super Bowl fifty eight.
Yeah, we're very excited. I think it's you know, I mentioned it
earlier when you and I think when the stadium was just a pipe dream raiders
were, you know, deciding to come here to think that we're now,
heck, six seven years later, we're now getting ready to talk about a
Super Bowl. I think just really speaks to the volume of what the stadium
means to the community and really being able to showcase the stadium on a worldwide
stage. So we're we're we're extremely excited. Still quite a bit of work
to do. That one hundred date countdown, you know, still gives me
a little bit anxiety, but the team over at the stadium, in conjunction
with everyone, we're really excited to really showcase what makes Allegiant stadiums of special.
And we're back for another episode of Inside the Vegas Huddle. Hello,
my name is Joetta Baumann with iHeartRadio, and I'm Chris Matthews with Channel A
KLESTV here in Las Vegas, and we got a special guest going on right
here and he's going to join us. That is the CEO of the Las
Vegas Host Committee, Bill McConnell. And Bill, thank you very much for
being here. It's exciting now because we're one hundred days counting down from one
hundred days. It makes it seem like it is right around the corner.
Wake me up. Is this a dream? Because the whole thing feels like
a dream. But yeah, one hundred days ago. So much to be
excited about. And thanks for having me. Glad to be here. We
love that you are here because we hear all things NFL. You are the
guy in town to talk to. Well, I's got a lot of pressure
to put on you right away. Before I joined the Las Vegas Super Bowl
Host Committee as a chief operations officer, I spent the last ten years as
a general manager for the stadium in Jacksonville, and prior to that, I
worked for the NFL for a twenty plus season. So I had a chance
to work from the NFL side of things on the Super Bowl and so now
to be on this side of it working for Las Vegas representing the host committee.
It's just it's an honor beyond words. But when you think of the
NFL and what they've done through the years and now this will be Super Bowl
fifty eight, and you mentioned you worked for a number of years with the
Super Bowl. What is the NFL saying about that you're here and what is
the NFL saying about Las Vegas as they now prepared it's one hundred days out.
Well, I think we almost all have to step back because, yes,
it's Super Bowl fifty eight, but in many respects, it's Super Bowl
one because it's the first one in Las Vegas. And I think that we
all know, whether people are saying it or just feeling it, that this
one is going to be special beyond all others. Yeah, and I think
that brings that brings everybody together because we again, we all know that when
you take the power of the NFL and what is special and fabulous about Las
Vegas and put them together for the biggest event in the world, I mean,
you could just Vegas. If you can dream it, you can do
it. And my joke about the dream was only part tongue in cheek.
But to think that we're putting on together the first super Bowl in Las Vegas.
Given the history of the NFL, the history of Las Vegas, I
mean, you can tell me stories about how not too many years ago,
the chances of a Super Bowl in Las Vegas were zero, and that math
just doesn't work out. There was a long ago when the NFL did not
even like Las Vegas. You couldn't even advertise the casinos. And how things
have just changed now. It's phenomenal what's going on. And this won't be
the last Super Bowl in Las Vegas either. The NFL likes what they you
know, you have, they had the rotation. I cannot imagine the NFL
not putting Las Vegas in that rotation. Well, the fact that the NFL
has come out recently and already endorsed the notion of multiple super Bowls in Las
Vegas, I think speaks to what this community, what the city, what
this Southern Nevada region. You know, where they are on the big event
map. And so to give us that endorsement before we've proven ourselves in real
time says a lot. But it also challenges challenges us a lot to be
as successful as we all know it can be, right and we know the
details that go into the preparations and the planning. It's not easy from start
to finish. So if you could dive into that a little bit more built
in terms of what really would you say has been something that has stuck out
to you in terms of getting the Super Bowl set up, specifically with Allegiant
Stadium and how unique that stadium is. There's so many things that stand out,
but I think what stands out to me from my background and experience again
is where we're starting from. And if you realize that it was only a
few years ago when the NFL finally reached out to Las Vegas and the conversations
happened between the LVCVA, the leadership of Las Vegas and the NFL, and
the NFL presented a bid which is probably this high of obligations and requirements and
you know, if you're to look at it financially, fifty or sixty million
dollars worth of obligations and requirements from public safety, transportation, and the stadium,
which which Chris gave a great overview in the in the last segment Community
Relations. The list goes on and on, and to see the host committee
and those the leaders in this community that are stepping up and engaged to make
sure that Las Vegas presents itself to the highest standard really stands out now operationally
and logistically what the NFL has to do, not only in putting on the
game, but what the destination has to do to make sure that all the
pieces work together. It's it's really exciting to watch that play out. And
you know, you think of all the things that have gone on kind of
behind the scenes with preparing for the Super Bowl, what the host Committee's done,
and you were recently over at UNLV and the internship programs, and I
can't even imagine how excited, how excited these students must be to be able
to work with the Super Bowl host Committee helping prepare for a Super Bowl.
But also Sam was telling us behind the scenes. Sam Jeoffrey was telling us
behind the scenes that this city has just embraced its like no other. It's
it's it impresses upon all of us. I think they're and you know,
when you see what the Golden Knights have done, what the Aces have done,
what the stadium has meant, and the Raiders have meant, It's it's
no secret now in the world sees it how this community is a sports community.
Now, Las Vegas and its history has been the pre eminent entertainment destination
and that evolution continues. But to now see, you know this what this
city is from a sports standpoint, It deserves a Super Bowl and many more.
Yeah, the fans want, the fans are excited. Can you tell
us a little bit about some of the special fan experiences, activities that are
planned for the stadium and things that we can expect maybe an opening night I
think you can tell us. Yeah. So the NFL, of course,
is the one who puts on the game. Our job is to facilitate and
support and provide and deliver all those obligations that Las Vegas has made. But
the opening night event on Monday, February fifth is going to be open to
the public. So it's a great opportunity for perhaps those who won't have an
access to a ticket to the game. That's a lot of us. They'll
be well, the demand for those are high and the supply is low,
so that's no secret. But the fact that both teams will be at Allegiance
Stadium that Monday afternoon. It used to be in the old day Media Day
where the media would come and talk to the players. Now they're bringing not
only media day so to speak back to the stadium, but it's open to
the public. That's cool, and so that's really cool, and we know
that the community will come out and support that. The Super Bowl Experience will
be at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and that'll start Wednesday before the game.
The NFL's and the process of planning a lot of little different activities for each
day to make each day special. So that's something to keep an eye on.
I would encourage everybody. The NFL has this mobile app called one Pass,
which it's actually active now, and while it may not have a lot
of information on there, it does have some good information about both Opening Night
and the super Bowl experience. That's really cool. Our tickets available right now.
They will go on sale December fourteenth, I believe it is. There
should be a pre sale opportunity for those who are paying attention. So we'll
all have to keep our eye out to the ground inside the huddle inside.
That's right. Bill's bringing us that info. I like that, and obviously
the Super Bowl is bringing out people from all over the world are going to
be here. Can you talk to us a little bit about the safety precautions
that are being put in place. I think just safety in general at big
events like this are always top of mind, and I know that you guys
obviously have to be thinking about those things. Well, hats off to the
NFL and the Las Vegas, which both organizations put or entities put safety at
the highest level of priority. So there's no question about that. And it's
one of the luxuries of being in an NFL city because the NFL has a
tight network of security professionals across the country and across the world that are in
constant communication what Metro PD is and for this city already is at the highest
standard. And so when you bring those two together, it's not only comforting,
but then when you layer on top of that that the Super Bowl will
be a Level one SEER event, which is a Homeland Security designated highest level
security event, which allows federal resources to be supplemented to the overall efforts.
So I think there's no higher priority than safety, and so's it's good to
see that. Moving forward, I think one of the questions could be,
well, what does that mean for the stadium in the overall experience, because
of the Level one National Security designation. Part of what will have to happen,
and we can't talk too much about it, but there will be a
secured perimeter that's built around the stadium, and so I think what people will
see as that starts to get build built is will be a transformation of the
stadium campus sure, and so the security checkpoints we're for a Raiders game or
an Allegiant Stadium event, people are used to accessing through the checkpoints that are
right up close to the stadium itself, those will all be built out.
And so because of that three hundred foot perimeter, the parking spaces that are
normally utilized for stadium events are no longer available for parking, which puts tremendous
pressure on the transportation and parking plan because there has to be access to the
streets and private lots around the stadium that will be used for the transportation plan
and system. So the campus will look different. Part of our job will
be as it gets built to make sure that we're communicating to people so that
whether you're coming to the game itself, you have an understanding of the best
way to access the stadium, but if you're if you're a resident or a
visitor, and you still have to access the roadways. We're going to do
and the NFL is going to do a good job of making sure that those
plans are communicated to try to make it as smooth an experience as possible.
Well, you know, I think in Las Vegas as the it was always
known as the entertainment capital of the world. And as you mentioned, Bill,
now, we'd like to call this sports and entertainment capital the world.
Have been the entertainment capital of the world. We've had all these residencies and
Usher and ACDC and Katie Perry and YouTube right now is playing. Did you
guys have any say at all or any recommendations. Did you guys look to
the NFL and say, we've done this, We've had all these residencies,
all these superstars, do these concerts here, here's a couple of recommendations,
or do they just totally take control of it. It's an NFL decision.
They have a partnership with Rock Nation and Apple Music, and so I think,
of course we all gave our opinions and maybe put hope after hope,
but we were many of us were thinking, let's have trust and confidence that
the NFL is going to do the right thing. Hopefully they'll pick somebody and
pay some homage to Las Vegas, right And look, the list of residency
artists over the years is a lot to choose from. But personally, I
think the fact that they've selected somebody who knows Las Vegas, who is a
big fan of Las Vegas. I don't know that you can pick a better
ambassador for Las Vegas than Usher. Now. I don't know his music as
well as maybe some other listeners do, but and for me anecdotally, I
didn't hear anybody complaining. Matter of fact, you know that he's going to
bring the fun. He was so grateful to be part of this thing.
Is like a dream come true for him to be part of the Super Bowl.
It's refreshing to see. That's really cool. Yeah, that's like so
many little details, so many nooks and crannies, And I know, what's
the biggest thing you guys got to do? Still? Now? Is there
something you're saying, oh? Or is it just so mind boggling. That's
a million little things. We talk about this all the time, and Sam
may have talked about it, or you may have heard it before I think
without looking at data, and Jeremy will give you some more detail on numbers
and impact and stuff. But we think there's there's two ways that the Super
Bowl are going to be successful that are going to be really easy to judge.
One is that those that are coming into Las Vegas, the NFL,
all of their constituents that that come in experience the Super Bowl are wowed beyond
belief and they leave town and say, Wow, how are we going to
experience something like that anywhere else? And the answer is you can't. The
second the second way is that is that the Las Vegas community, whether you're
a resident of business, media, anybody that's involved with it, says,
at the end of it, that's how we do it here, and we'd
love to have you back. And so we're working every day to try to
make sure that those two goals are delivered upon. I can tell that.
Thank you so much, Bill McConnell's Oh I'm a Las Vegas host committee,
Thank you for being here with us today. Thanks for having me, appreciate
it. Welcome back to episode four Inside the Vegas Huddle. My name is
Joanna Bowman with iHeartRadio, and I'm Chris Matthews with Channel eight KLSTV right here
in Las Vegas, and we have a special guest. I know you're gonna
love this once again. The treasurer of the super Bowl Host Committee, the
Executive Committee here is Jeremy Aguero. Jeremy, thank you very much for dropping
in. It's always fun to talk to you because I like numbers. I
love Las Vegas, and when we talk about numbers, Las Vegas and super
Bowl, it all kind of ties in. It's going to be a huge,
juge event. Well, first, thanks for having me here and the
fact that we get to talk about numbers. Now you're in my zone.
So thanks. We've been looking forward to following up with you since episode one,
as Jeremy was with us on episode one, And of course you know
all about the impact of Super Bowl fifty eight here in Las Vegas and US
locals who live here in Las Vegas. We're curious about, you know,
what is the good stuff that comes and what's going to impact local businesses because
I feel like that's always top of mind for our community. Do you know
what it's happening already right? I mean, we're talking about a super Bowl
is a huge level of investment. Right, probably, at least to date,
the biggest economic event in terms of a sporting event that we've ever had
in Southern Nevada's history. Anything real quick, not to interrupt you, but
anything ever even remotely compare well to this. Look you've been here. Yes
there are things that you know, but there are things that last a lot
longer. We have things like the National Finals rodeo. If we add up
all, for example, of the UFC fights that happened in the community,
big box matches, and granted, do those get to the level of the
super Bowl? The answer that question is no, There's no doubt this will
be the biggest one. But I mean, we do have a lot of
special events, and those special events have a lot of impact, particularly when
you think about many of them happening than our community in a single year.
But when you asked the question about what is the economic impact, right,
it is about jobs. It is about wages and salaries, It's about economic
output. And from an analyst perspective, those are the things we like to
talk about, right, thousands of jobs, people spending money in our community.
But if we think about it on the individual level, right, already
we're seeing the Business connect program essentially go out and identify businesses that will be
able to work specifically for the NFL on the Super Bowl in the community.
Right, they have already not only just identified literally hundreds of businesses that will
have an opportunity, but I think beyond that, they're laying a foundation for
the future, right, teaching businesses about how to apply, how to be
certified as a women a woman owned a better and owned a minority owned business,
which frankly, it was surprising many people didn't know that, and so
giving them the opportunity not only to work for this project, to work work
for projects going forward after the Super Bowl leaf. So I think that legacy
of impact is important. But if you want to talk about jobs, you
want to talk about wages, salary, you want to talk about economic output.
We are going to have literally over one hundred thousand people. We'll have
three hundred thousand people in town. But you know, and the majority of
them are going to be here because of the Super Bowl. Right. They
come here, they spend money, they eat in our restaurants, they shop
in our stores, they do all those things that is jobs in our community,
right, And so we think about it along those lines. But they're
not your typical visitor either, right. These are visitors that spend more,
they stay longer, and so those impacts are also very significant. And for
that expenditure, it is roughly one job created in as a result of that
spending, and then another job that's created outside of our hospitality industry. These
are folks that when I earn a tip or my wage and salary and I
go back to my neighborhood and I spend my wages and salary or my tips
in a restaurant or a doctor's office, or I go to a movie,
those are jobs that also been off as a result of that. This is
the reason why communities line up to try and get a Super Bowl to come
to their community, because the economic impact is just so meaningful, not only
when the event takes place, but leading up to and following that event.
That trickle effect is strong. Yeah, we've always talked about this too,
Jeremy, even before the Super Bowl ten fifteen years ago, if you couldn't
go to the super Bowl, the next best place was Las Vegas. We've
always said that's true. I remember how they had the parties, the Super
Bowl parties all around town at that time. Now, before the NFL got
really strict with Las Vegas, you could bring in players, former players,
and they had the super Bowl Party at the Riviera, the super Bowl Party
at the Dunes. Remember all those things. And then now it's even during
the Final four. You get that now. But well, even before Las
Vegas had a Super Bowl, there was an impact in our community related to
the Super Bowl well, no doubt. And as a matter of fact,
I am willing to bet you for the last twenty years we have had more
people in town in Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend than any market that has
hosted the Super Bowl. Now, let's imagine that level of excitement. We
are the only community in the United States that grew up and was designed to
host people. Now, let's bring that energy and the Super Bowl together.
Get ready, Let's get ready. It's gonna be crazy. Could you.
Let's go back to when David Beckham. Yeah, the David Beckham visited with
Mark Davis over on their UNLB campus and they said, hey, have you
build this helped me build this arena. I'll put the money in and you
put the money in the state and so forth, and it gets done.
Did you ever imagine that Allegiance stateum would have the impact that it's had on
Las Vegas. The answer that question is no, right, I mean,
you know, I mean besides the fact that David Beckham's kind of phenomenon,
right, I mean, he maybe the most beautiful human being I've ever met
in my entire life. My wife is like, what do you mean you
got to be close to David Beckham? Right, that whole thing. Right,
But even when we went through that process, we had this conversation,
right, we estimated, we went through this process of looking at what we
thought it would do for our community, we got about half of what actually
happened there. And you remember all the criticism that we got. Right,
no stadium anywhere in the United States has ever had more than five percent of
the people they came to that stadium from out of town to go that in
a year, Right, last year, Allegiance Stadium did fifty three percent of
the people that attended events, football events and concerts and that were from out
of town. And for some of the big events I'm talking about like Taylor
Swift and I'm talking about BTS and I'm talking about Beyonce, ninety percent of
the out of town visitors said they would not have come to Las Vegas but
for those events being here. And they come into town, right, they
come into town and they stay in our hotels and they eat in our restaurants,
and that economic impact is tremendous. And look, there is no doubt
we want every person in that stadium during a Raiders game to be a Raiders
fan. But if they can't be, if they're not going to be,
then we can look around and we see those Steelers fans, and we see
those Philadelphia fans, and we may not like them, but we like them
in our community. I look around and I see eight hundred dollars, eight
hundred dollars, eight hundred dollars for each one of them. They're coming in
our town and they're spending a lot more than that. But you go to
our steakhouses the Saturday before a football game and they're packed with these people that
are coming to our town and having a great time. And as silly as
I am about it, we love having them in our community because it's what
works, and this is what we do, and our ability to welcome folks
and say, you know, you know, our our favorite team is going
to be the Raiders. But we love having the other teams here in our
community to share our awesome stadium with and to share our awesome community with.
A super Bowl Week is going to be phenomenal here. I M. I
can't and imagine what because, well, do people spend on average more during
Super Bowl Week? Like if I'm gonna come to a game in Las Vegas
against the Niners or I'm gonna come to the Super Bowl, I spend the
same or a lot. Oh no, not at all. As a matter
of fact, it's probably three to five times what you'd see for a normal
visitor. Now, also we have things like ticket costs and those type of
things. But to put it in, but we're talking about hote hell rooms
and more people spend on special events and those type of activities. Let's not
forget that Super Bowl Week is a phenomenon, right, you have all kinds
of business that is going to be done here because of that. Now,
Allegiant Stadium has a practical capacity, right, So it's not like a sold
out game during the regular season is going to have a whole lot more or
fewer people than a sold out game during the Super Bowl. But what it
is is going to be a sold out stadium full of VIPs, right,
and the activity that happens around that. And here's the magic of it.
You and I both know that during a big fight, a big UFC fight,
a big boxing about that, people come that don't even go to the
event. And we're going to have a lot of that. Probably as many
people as go to the super Bowl will be in town, probably more just
based on our estimates, will actually be in town and never actually attend the
game because of all the other special events that are going to be going on
around it. That's magical for us from an economic standpoint, right. And
let's talk about the infrastructure improvements because obviously having no events like this and you're
gonna have to reroute some things, things are gonna have to be changing.
Can you talk to us a little bit about some of that stuff going on?
Yeah, make it more easy for people to get around here, there's
no doubt, right, I mean, roads and those type of things.
We've got a lot of infrastructure going on, right, I Mean it's almost
hard to find a road in our community that doesn't have yellow cones or infrastructure.
But so much of that is the investment leading up to these major events,
right, I mean, we talk about it, and yes, it's
caused some pain for some community. I felt that you've all felt it,
certainly the people that work within the resort corridor have felt it legitimately. But
beyond that, right, when you start to think about the level of investment
that places like Caesars and MGM have put in to build out a different additional
infrastructure within their facilities, improving hotel rooms, doing some of that thing to
be able to move people. We often talk about it about the economic benefits
of the investments that happened before. Something like the Olympics always a great example
of the level of investment that comes in. I'm not saying that we're at
that level, but I'm saying we're not that far away in terms of the
type of trend that's going into our community so that we can all benefit,
and I think the benefits of those things are going to last a lot longer.
Yes, we're going to have roadway improvements. Yes, the folks at
ENDT are actually making modifications to the Tropicana Project, which is hugely important to
us to make sure that as much mobility as possible during these events matter because
what we cannot have happen is have infrastructure be the story around the super Bowl.
What happens on the field should be the number one story, But here
in our community, the economics behind that should be number two, right.
I mean that's a great point. Jarre. Let me ask you, is
you think of all the things that come to Las Vegas, especially this fall
going into the winter, when you have Formula One, the NBA Showcase,
then of course the super Bowl. Is that gonna affect the Super Bowl at
all in terms of numbers that I know that one's mostly international travelers, a
lot of international money coming in there. Will it affect the Super Bowl?
And your opinion at all? What kind of data you see? I don't
think that it does at all. What we've seen is that as we have
grown as a sports market, that has been additive. And here's the other
kind of secret sauce for us, is that when you host your event here,
more people come to your event. So, whether it's an equestrian event
that's maybe taking place at the South Point, whether it's the NBA a summer
league, or the Showcase, whether it's a major boxing match, what we
found is that people come to Las Vegas because the event is happening here more
so than anywhere else in the United States. And so not only do I
believe that it's not going to have a diminishing effect, I think it could
have an additive effect. Now, the asterisk next to that is we have
to perform as a community. We have to deliver on the promise that the
Las Vegas brand knows what it's doing. Mobility needs to be there. We
need to have volunteers that have the right attitude and have the knowledge. We
need to have these businesses show up and make sure that everybody from the players
to the fans to the owners have the best experience here that they've ever had.
We have to deliver on that Las Vegas brand. If we fail to
do that, there will be negative ramifications as a community. So we're not
We're not a guy that's say if I if I'm a guy that says I
have one thousand dollars of extra money, do I want to go to the
Super Bowl? Do I want to go to F one? I want to
do both, but I can't. What are you saying there? This is
this is the beautiful thing, right, This is the beautiful thing for us,
is that you know there's a lot of people in this world that have
somehow if it becomes a choice, right, people make a choice, and
we're seeing it in our community all the time. Right, people save up
to go for the Super Bowl, Like you know, they they say,
look, if my team makes it, I don't care. I'm gonna make
my air. I'm gonna go get it done. And so we'll see that
when we get through the championship games to get us to the super Bowl,
to get us there. But we have a lot of sports fans, right,
and we also have things like Ultimate Sports Weekends. We've got an NFL
game and an NHL game, and we've got NASCAR that we can and we've
got a UFC fight. And yeah, people may not come to all of
those things. They may not come to every concert. That's the beauty of
Vegas. One event doesn't affect the decisions on another bit, and we have
not seen them at all. Yeah, I think Vegas is such a big
town in terms of like first because if you live in Vegas or you've grown
up in Vegas, you want to say I was a part of the first
whatever, right, And I feel like people who have been a part of
the Vegas community forever. They want to add that to their list. Super
Bowl fifty eight, look at how they line up. We open a new
hotel casino right out the door down the street. I want to be a
part of it. And isn't that kind of a cool thing to have in
our community? As we're sitting here right thinking about where we were seven eight
years ago before we even had some of the sports that we have today,
and we're talking about all of the first that we're having and now those type
of things, those investments and things like UFC, the Golden Knights taking a
chance, come here and say talk, you will never work in the desert.
Right, you have allegiant stadium that was constructed and open during a pandemic.
Right, all that kind of stuff. One October and here we are
with all of these amazing first that we're doing here. And again, I
think this community is going to exceed every expectation. You know, I asked
Jeremy this I think was in September our first podcast. Yeah, let me
ask you again and tell our maybe they missed the first podcast. But is
all this sustainable? Well, look, sustainability is always a difficult thing.
My brief answer your question is going to be yes, and why because we
have the ability. We have one hundred and fifty thousand hotel rooms with three
hundred thousand leisure and hospitality and related workers. We have Harry Reid International Airport,
which is about three times five times the size it is needed for a
community like Cards. It is built for our tourism economy and all. This
is what we are designed to do. So from a sustainability standpoint, it
is all about our ability to deliver on the brand. We talk about the
VAGA. We have to deliver on that Vegas brand, and I believe we'll
do it. I think we will, And there's nobody else I don't know
about you, Chris, I gets me more excited than this guy. Cherkey
and Aguero Charger of the Super Bowl fifty eight Executive Committee, thank you for
being here with us, Episode four. We appreciate you. We look forward
for him to come back. Dowi, Chris, I love Hey, Jeremy,
I love the numbers. We all love Vegas and we love the numbers.
And that it's just like you were saying, Las Vegas is special place.
If I have fifty bucks, I'm going to Vegas. If I have
five hundred Bucks. I'm going to Vegas. I'm gonna do both things.
That is exactly right. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you
to the Super Bowl fifty eight Host Committee sponsors, Caesar's Entertainment, inter Mountain
Health, Howard Hughes, and sam Manuel Band of Mission. Indians would also
like to thank our partners MGM Rewards, Allegiant, usc, PNC Bank,
fivo iHeartMedia, and Bank of Nevada