Vegas, the city of gamblers, casinos and huge hotels. But the metropolis has also been a sports city for several years: The Vegas Gold Knights have only been playing in the city since 2017, but last year they became champions in the NFL professional ice hockey league for the first time. This Sunday, Vegas will be in the spotlight when the Super Bowl takes place at Allegiant Stadium. Since 2020, the 65,000-seater stadium has stood almost directly opposite the international airport and is considered one of the most modern sports venues in the USA.
It is the NFL’s first stadium to rely entirely on renewable energy for its energy supply. The arena sets new standards in the USA when it comes to waste separation and water treatment, as well as its construction: the roof is made of an ultra-light polycarbonate, which was also used for the outer skin of the Allianz Arena in Munich. The border of the arena, which looks like a glass surface from the inside, is a huge video wall from the outside. But the effort also came at a hefty price: the construction of the stadium is said to have cost around $1.8 billion.
Now the home stadium of the Las Vegas Raiders, who played in Oakland, California until the move, is experiencing a playoff game for the first time. The Raiders, one of the best teams in the league in the 1980s, are usually found in the middle of the table. Since losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 Super Bowl final, the Raiders have only reached the playoffs twice. For the first Super Bowl in Nevada, where the reigning champions from Kansas City meet the San Francisco 49ers, ticket prices have exploded. One day after the final duel was announced, the average price for a ticket on the Seat Geek ticket portal was over $12,000. Experience has shown that prices fall until the Super Bowl – but a ticket is practically unavailable for less than a four-digit sum.