LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Longtime locals will remember Sam Boyd Stadium, once known as the Las Vegas Silver Bowl in East Las Vegas.
This was the place to go for big concerts, monster truck jams and UNLV football, but today, this once-popular venue is the site of empty parking lots and chained-up fences.
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This stadium's future is in the air as it could move back under Clark County control soon.
“I was a football guy, so that was my spot, that was my home, you know," said UNLV Quarterback from 1982-1986 Steve Stallworth.
Stallworth was redshirted his first season and mainly played back-up to Randall Cunningham the next two years, then he was named captain and started his last two for the Rebels.
He still remembers his first game in 1982 which was against BYU and their star quarterback Steve Young.
Not only did he play at UNLV, but he also worked there shortly after graduating in 1987. He helped bring big events to the stadium.
“You know the first big stadium tours we did, the Grateful Dead four sold out shows every year we used to do out there, The Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour, Paul McCartney, we had the Canadian Football League out there if you could believe that," Stallworth said.
Stallworth now works as the General Manager of the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center. He was also the Vice President and General Manager for the Orleans Arena and the Associate Director of the Thomas & Mack Center, Sam Boyd Stadium and Cox Pavillion.
Events at the stadium are now gone. UNLV Football departed for Allegiant Stadium in 2020 and UNLV last hosted its commencement ceremony there in 2021.
It was used as a COVID-19 testing site during the pandemic.
Now, firefighters are the only regular visitors, primarily using this site for training. Some residents tell me they also see many homeless people on stadium property.
“There’s a lot of homeless kind of making camp, setting up camp in the vegetation, I do see them walking through the parking lot a lot," said Megan Avila, who has lived next to Sam Boyd Stadium for 13 years.
Avila has had Sam Boyd practically in her backyard since she moved to the area. She says she has enjoyed living near the stadium to see and hear the events with her kids, but hopes officials will get it cleaned up and back in service soon.
Wednesday, the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents will meet to possibly vote on selling the stadium back to Clark County for $5 million.
If the board does approve the sale, it still has to go in front of the Clark County Commission for a vote before a sale is final.
I reached out to the county for comment on the sale and what the county plans to do if they were to assume ownership, but the county says they will not comment on Sam Boyd Stadium before Wednesday's meeting.
Avila says she just hopes they consider the nearby neighborhoods in any future decisions.
"It’s kind of been a landmark, it’s been a little easy for me to say where do I live, I’m by Sam Boyd Stadium, but I do enjoy the view also," Avila said.
Once again, there is no indication on what will happen to the stadium or the land it sits on, but we will continue to track the latest with Sam Boyd Stadium and will have the latest for you on air and online.
