Raiders looking to improve pedestrian, traffic congestion with new plaza project

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Raiders are unveiling plans that could improve pedestrian and traffic access to Allegiant Stadium.

On Thursday, team representatives presented the North Plaza Project to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. Plans include a plaza, a dedicated space to improve access to rideshare options, and an event space.

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Pedestrian access to and from Allegiant Stadium has been something the team has wanted to address for years.

"As our attendance has grown and the stadium has hosted a wider range of different events, the north side of the building has become one of the pressure points in the guest experience. The current layout funnels a large share of guests across the Hacienda Bridge and towards the Strip. On high event attendance days, that infrastructure is stretched to its capacity," said Sandra Douglass Morgan, President of the Las Vegas Raiders. "The proposed north entry improvements are designed to address that directly, improving arrival and departure, reducing post-event bottlenecks, strengthening transportation flow, and creating a more efficient connection between the stadium, the resort corridor, and future mobility options."

So how are they going to do that?

"The proposition and the vision that we're sharing with you is a pedestrian-forward plaza where we're enabling people to access the stadium without having to cross roads, coming straight off at an elevated arrivals deck from the upper level of the Hacienda Avenue ramp into a new generous public plaza outside of the northern gate," said Andrew Byrne, who is a partner at Grimshaw, an architecture and design firm. "We've also found ways to separate the desired paths of movement, to ensure that people who are looking to use rideshare or alternative means of transportation are not in direct conflict with the flow of people who have chosen to walk to and from the Strip."

Basically, instead of fans going all the way down the Hacienda bridge, they want to build an elevated path directly to the stadium. However, the bridge will still be available for fans who want to continue using that route.

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The event area will also provide a respite from the Las Vegas sun.

"At the second level is the idea of an event desk with a shade structure amenity for not only pre- and post-event experiences but also for community-based events and flexibility when it comes to creative outdoor programming," Byrne said. "We are acutely aware of the importance of shade and the hospitable environment for exterior dwelling and we've integrated, into the design, a shade structure through this space."

The street level would be used for rideshare services.

"We've tucked in, underneath the second story, a very efficient and dedicated rideshare transit loop below to really increase the immediacy of arrival and departure and to have, hopefully, a far more efficient and dedicated operation for rideshare," Byrne said. "It is improving the amenity of the passenger experience."

Some of the renderings showed a mini-Allegiant Stadium. That is not included in the current proposal for the North Plaza project. However, it could be an event space, which is brought before the board in the future.

There are also plans to add a Vegas Loop station.

How much is this going to cost?

The overall project is estimated to cost $158 million and would be split between the Stadium Authority and the Raiders.

According to Thursday's proposal, the Stadium Authority would fund up to $75 million. That money would come from the waterfall residual fund, which is funded by room tax revenue.

Steve Hill made it very clear that all other obligations must be paid before that money is used.

"There are three potential uses for the funding that gets to the bottom of the waterfall. It doesn't get there until all the other commitments are made, bond payments, payments to UNLV, Stadium Authority operations, a portion of the maintenance. Once those have been funded, money gets to the bottom of the waterfall," Hill explained. "One option is to pay the bonds earlier than the 30 years listed in the bond agreement. The other two are to pay for infrastructure around stadium or capital enhancement projects. [This] falls under the title or aspect or allowable use that is a capital enhancement."

Thursday's presentation was just an informational topic and the board is scheduled to hear more details about the project, as well as consider how much of the $75 million will be used, at a meeting next month.

When would the project be completed?

Developers said they would like to have this project wrapped up by the time Las Vegas hosts the Super Bowl in 2029.

They said they are also looking closely at the schedule to figure out ways for construction to have little to no impact on events currently on Allegiant Stadium's schedule like Raiders games, concerts, and the Final Four.

"[It's] something that we are incredibly cognizant of and we'll need to do some very detailed work to manage and understand how we can ensure that, first of all, the operational experience for fans entering the stadium is not compromised for that really significant milestone," Byrne said. "If there are elements of the project that need to be under construction to meet the 2029 deadline, we're very thoughtful about how they are executed, how they're staged, and how they are adequately protected and shielded from the accessible areas of the public domain."