Battle Stadium Don 1.9 Ail
In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. At about 30 seconds into the round, he hit Liston with several combinations, causing a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which eventually required eight stitches to close. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes.[22] Les Keiter, broadcasting at ringside, shouted, "This could be the upset of the century!" Mort Sharnik described the moment: "Cassius hit Liston with a one-two combination; a jab followed by a straight right. Cassius pulled the jab back and there was a mouse underneath Sonny's right eye. Then he pulled the right back and there was a gash underneath the other eye. ... It was like the armor plate of a battleship being pierced. I said to myself, 'My God, Cassius Clay is winning this fight!'"[23] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round, as Clay seemed tired, and delivered punishing shots to Clay's body. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. But as the round ended, Clay shouted to him, "you big sucka, I got you now".[24] Sitting on his stool between rounds, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut.
Battle Stadium Don 1.9 Ail
The new date was set for May 25, 1965. But as it approached, Liston was involved in yet another arrest and there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime. Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston.[47]
Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels college football team, the Las Vegas Bowl, and the Vegas Kickoff Classic.
Scheduled to host Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, the venue is located on about 62 acres (25 ha) of land west of Mandalay Bay at Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue and between Polaris Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, just west of Interstate 15. At $1.9 billion, it is the second-most expensive stadium in the world. Construction of the stadium began on November 13, 2017, and its certificate of occupancy was issued on July 31, 2020.[11]
For Allegiant Stadium, Raiders owner Mark Davis retained the same architecture firm, MANICA Architecture, that had designed the previously proposed Carson Stadium near Los Angeles.[12][13] Davis retained much of the look from the Carson stadium because he "fell in love with the overall design of it".[14] Allegiant Stadium is a 10-level domed stadium featuring an ETFE roof, silver and black exterior with light-up strips installed by YESCO, a 275-foot (84 m) media mesh video screen facing Interstate 15, and large retractable curtain-like side windows facing the Las Vegas Strip.[15] The north endzone area in front of the retractable windows contains a large torch that houses a flame in honor of Al Davis, the late long-time owner of the Raiders.[16][17][18] The torch is 85 feet (26 m) tall and is currently the largest 3D printed object in the world.[19]
The stadium has a roll-in natural Bermuda grass field similar to the one at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which is primarily used for NFL games.[20] The main advantages of such a configuration is that it allows the natural playing surface to be exposed to natural sunlight when not in use and allows other events to be held at the facility without any risk of damage to the grass. Unlike the Arizona facility (which does not have a varsity tenant) Allegiant Stadium also has an artificial turf field, which is primarily used for college football games. This design was chosen because UNLV prefers to play on an artificial turf surface, and also due to concerns that use of the grass field by two teams would cause excessive wear to the playing surface. The artificial turf is placed directly on the stadium's concrete floor, and the tray holding the grass field is designed so that it can roll in and out without disrupting the turf underneath it.[21]
In January 2016, reports emerged that Las Vegas Sands was considering developing a stadium in conjunction with Majestic Realty and UNLV, on a 42-acre (17 ha) site on Tropicana Avenue owned by UNLV.[23] UNLV had been in the market for a new stadium to replace Sam Boyd Stadium since at least 2011.[24] Raiders owner Mark Davis visited Las Vegas on January 29 to tour the site and meet with Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson and other local figures.[25] The Raiders, who had been trying to get a new stadium built for the team since the 1980s, had just missed out on relocating to Los Angeles that same month with the Rams and Chargers moving into a new stadium in Inglewood, California and were at an impasse in Oakland. In order for the team to relocate to Las Vegas, a new stadium was required, since Sam Boyd Stadium was undersized for the NFL and there were no other professional-caliber stadiums in Nevada. The Raiders had previously played a preseason game in Las Vegas at Cashman Field against the Houston Oilers during the 1964 American Football League (AFL) preseason and owner Al Davis considered relocating the team there.
On March 21, 2016, when asked about Las Vegas, Davis said, "I think the Raiders like the Las Vegas plan," and "it's a very very very intriguing and exciting plan." Davis also met with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval about the stadium plan. On April 1, 2016, Davis met with UNLV officials and toured Sam Boyd Stadium to evaluate whether it could serve as a temporary home for the team.
On April 28, 2016, Davis said he wanted to move the Raiders to Las Vegas and pledged $500 million toward constructing the proposed $1.4-billion domed stadium.[26][27] "Together we can turn the Silver State into the silver and black state," Davis said.[26][28]
In the spring of 2016, the board of directors of Las Vegas Sands rejected Adelson's stadium proposal. Adelson decided to move ahead with the stadium as an individual investment, pledging $650 million of his personal wealth to the project.[29]
On August 25, 2016, the Raiders filed a trademark application for "Las Vegas Raiders" on the same day renderings of a proposed stadium design were released.[33] On September 15, 2016, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee unanimously voted to recommend and approve $750 million for the Las Vegas stadium plan.[34]
The Raiders filed relocation papers on January 19 to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.[42] On January 26, 2017, the Raiders submitted a proposed lease agreement for the stadium. It was reported that the Raiders had selected the Russell Road site as the stadium location, the team would pay one dollar in rent, and that they could control the naming rights for both the stadium and plaza and in addition keep signage sponsorship revenue.[43]
Days after the Raiders' announced proposal, Adelson dropped out of the stadium project, pulling his proposed $650 million contribution.[44] Shortly after this announcement, Goldman Sachs, which had planned to finance part of the project, withdrew as well. As a result, the Raiders were expected to increase their contribution from $500 million to $1.15 billion.[45]
The Raiders closed the purchase of the land for the stadium at the Russell Road site on May 1. The purchase price was reported at $77.5 million.[51] On May 11, it was announced that in a joint venture Mortenson Construction and McCarthy Construction would be the developers for the stadium. Mortenson previously worked on U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The stadium authority approved a stadium lease with the Raiders on May 18.[52] The lease was to be for 30 years with four successive extension options of five years each.[53]
On May 24, 2019, it was announced that 20 additional suites would be added to the stadium in the south end zone, with six suites on the main concourse and 14 suites in the lower suite level, one section above the main concourse. The suites were added in an effort to make the stadium more attractive for a Super Bowl.[60]
Clark County officials declared that the stadium met its substantial completion date on July 31, 2020, meaning it could issue a certificate of occupancy and officially begin leasing the venue to the Las Vegas Raiders. Work would still continue, with the project closeout scheduled for October 2020.[62] The team held its first closed-door practice in the stadium on August 21, with Mark Davis nicknaming his team's new home "The Death Star."[63]
The opening of the stadium was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. The original opening event at the stadium was scheduled to be a Garth Brooks concert but the event was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic.[64]
The Raiders played their first game at the stadium with fans in attendance on September 13, 2021, a Week 1 Monday Night Football matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.[70] The team required fans entering the stadium to show either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or receive a vaccination at the stadium and wear masks.[71]
The original budget for construction of the stadium was $1.8 billion.[72] The budget was increased twice in 2019.[73] The first time was in May 2019 when the trusses had to be retrofitted.[74] Don Webb received an additional $40 million at the May 23, 2020 Stadium Authority Board meeting to cover the overages.[75] The second time was in September 2019. Don Webb received another $90 million to cover the extra shifts required to fix the broken truss issue.[76] The overages increased the new budget to $1.97 billion; $200 million over the original budget of $1.8 billion. Ultimately, the stadium was completed $25 million under the increased budget but $175 million over the original $1.8 billion budget.[77]