6 Unexpected Changes Vegas Will See For Big Game Weekend

Here we go, Sin City football fans! For the first time ever, Las Vegas will be hosting the big game this year. Super Bowl LVIII is happening at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024. And it's come with a lot of excitement for Las Vegas locals. For many reasons, including the fact that we're going to have a major influx of tourists ready to add their vacation money to our economy. According to sportsdestinations.com, hosting the big game this year could bring about $1 billion to Las Vegas.

But it isn't all roses for the city chosen to host the most famous football game of the year. There are a lot of hoops Las Vegas had to jump through to be the home of this year's big game. Exactly 153 pages worth of hoops, actually.

In 2014, a newspaper reporter from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune uncovered an interesting document regarding the Super Bowl and the city it is hosted in (the-sun.com). Once confidential, the document is now available to the public. It's a 153-page list of requirements and specifications given by the NFL to cities hosting the Super Bowl. This document uncovered was specifically written for when Minneapolis hosted the game. So considerations might change a bit for different cities.

The requirements include some logical things you would expect. Like not allowing glass containers at the stadium during the game, or cutting off alcohol sales after the third quarter. But it also includes some things that you would probably not expect. Like giving the NFL priority access to snow removal if it happens to snow on game day. Which means some people could be trapped inside a grocery store for hours during a snow storm because the city has agreed to plow the stadium instead.

Luckily, we won't have to worry about snow in Las Vegas during the Super Bowl. But there are going to be other requirements that the city has to fulfill that might alter how locals do things during Super Bowl week.

- Wendy Rush

One of the NFL's requirements is that the host city must provide access to three golf courses. The golf courses must be top-quality and the access must be exclusive. The courses will be used for a tournament hosted during Super Bowl weekend. So, if you're a golfer who likes those luxury greens, you might want to take the weekend off or slum it at one of Vegas's more modest courses.

Same story if you're an avid bowler. The NFL also requires the use of two top-quality bowling alleys for tournaments during Super Bowl week.

Another requirement of host cities by the NFL is access to 35,000 parking spots near the stadium. According to Allegiant's parking FAQs, there are only about 25,000 parking spots near the stadium. Which means an extra 10,000 parking spots are going to be dedicated to the game. So, if you have business going on near Allegiant on February 11, you might want to add extra time for your commute there. And keep in mind Allegiant offers parking at Luxor, Excalibur and Mandalay Bay. So it's probably safe to assume parking in those garages will be pretty crowded as well.

For the days surrounding the big game, the NFL also requires that the host city provide police escorts whenever needed. This means our local police force will be pulling extra duty when NFL team members, officials and media personnel need to go somewhere. Including to and from the airport, practice facilities, hotels and stadium. So, maybe just be extra nice to our Las Vegas law enforcement. They'll be working even harder than usual during Super Bowl week.

During Super Bowl week, the NFL requires the host city to provide a very high number of vehicles for transportation. Including 10,000 rental cars, 1,000 taxis and 500 limousines. Additionally, 250 "school" busses must be available for transporting Super Bowl personnel. Add to that the number of tourists in Vegas trying to hitch a ride, and you might want to make sure you pack some comfortable walking shoes.

Essentially, it'll probably look like the NFL threw up all over Allegiant Stadium and the surrounding businesses. The one-mile radius around Allegiant will be known as the Clean Zone for the week leading up to the Super Bowl and a few days after.

Within the Clean Zone, businesses are not allowed to do anything the NFL doesn't approve of. This usually pertains to advertising any brand that isn't an NFL partner. So you might notice some inflatables or building wraps are missing. People selling merchandise or food with a temporary permit might not be around. And there will most likely be a higher police presence than usual.

Las Vegas Blvd is less than a mile east of Allegiant. So, the Clean Zone should include the areas around the Luxor, Mandalay Bay, and Excalibur properties.

While the NFL might be putting limitations on the amount of alcohol consumed at the game, they're pretty much doing the opposite after. Another requirement for the host city is to provide waivers for any limitation of alcohol sales up until 4 a.m. after the game at all official league and team postgame party sites. Considering we are Las Vegas, this may not affect us much. Either way, we can bet there will be many people getting hammered on Super Bowl Sunday.

In other words, nobody in Vegas is going to work on Monday. So if your coworkers are big football fans, your office might be pretty quiet that morning.