Jerry Doty  /   October 2, 2019

The Stadium Effect

As soon as the Las Vegas Raiders closed escrow in May of 2017, on the 62 acre-site at W. Russell Road and Polaris Avenue, to house their brand-new stadium (Allegiant Stadium) there has been one lingering question that we get asked on a regular basis. What will happen to the property around the stadium? The immediate area surrounding the stadium is home to approximately 3 million SF of industrial owners and tenants which will likely all be dramatically impacted over the next 12-18 months. Developers have already begun purchasing some adjacent sites for record-breaking numbers ($3.15M per acre) but have not yet revealed their plans for the sites.

Parking

After the stadium was announced it was revealed there would only be 2,725 on-site parking spots. While this limited number of on-site stalls is on par with other NFL stadiums (Atlanta – 2,382, Minneapolis – 273 and Seattle – 2,726), the glaring difference is the proximity to secondary parking locations. Shortly after the stadium announcement, it was revealed that there would be 4 off-site parking locations, ranging from 1.6  to 4.5 miles from the stadium. Even with the most recent acquisition by the Raiders of 17.3 acres on Valley View ( less than 1 mile from the Stadium) the current plan is to transport game day attendees to and from the secondary lots via shuttle, potentially hampering the tailgating or fan experience typically seen at most college or professional Stadiums. The most popular redevelopment option for the adjacent property is the obvious, a redevelopment to parking lots or parking structures. While a huge win for fans it would be unlikely for a developer to go this route as it makes the least financial sense. We could potentially see a retail/parking hybrid that includes ground-floor retail and multi-level parking above.

Probability = 20%

Retail/Hotel

Another potential option is hotel and/or retail amenities redevelopment. Despite the close proximity to the Las Vegas Strip and its 150,000 rooms and world-class retail, a hotel or retail project would likely be the most lucrative of reuse options. Anyone who’s been to a game at the San Diego Padres, Seattle Seahawks, Boston Red Sox Stadiums or even our very own Vegas Golden Knights can tell you that the retail surrounding the stadium is electric before and after the games. Also, these hotels and retail shops continue to drive people to the area around the stadium even when there are no games being played. With only 8 Raiders home games a year having attractive retail destinations could be vital to the popularity of the surrounding area.

Probability = 60%.

Nothing

The most likely scenario, and least interesting, is that most of the surrounding property will likely stay industrial, at least for the time being. In our conversations with property owners, the most common thing we hear is that they will likely sit and wait to see what (if any) impact the stadium has on their building and/or business before making any moves.

Probability = 80%.

While there will likely be some migration of industrial users away from the stadium it will be more of a trickle than an avalanche and will spread out over several months if not years after the stadium opens next year. Regardless of the outcome, it will be extremely interesting to see how much this area changes over the next several years.