The board that oversees Las Vegas' publicly funded sports venues approved on Wednesday a $158 million upgrade to a main entrance to Allegiant Stadium, authorizing a $75 million payment from the fund set up by state lawmakers in 2016.

The NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, the primary tenant of the 65,000-seat venue, will pay the remaining $83 million to enhance the stadium's north entrance by adding a plaza area with event decks for entertainment and enhanced transportation points. 

The approval took roughly 10 minutes. Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan attended the hearing with other team representatives but didn't speak.

The project is the first major improvement in the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium, which opened to the public in 2021 and has become a key entertainment venue for Las Vegas west of the Strip. 

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority board voted unanimously in favor of the funding. The board oversees Allegiant Stadium and the under-construction $2 billion MLB stadium that will be home to the relocated Athletics in 2028.

Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill said the cost-sharing for the project was "important." Hill added that Allegiant Stadium will face competition from new stadiums in Nashville; Washington, D.C.; Kansas City, Kansas; Denver and the Chicago area.

"In my conversations, most feel like that investment needs to continue. This makes sense. This is the right thing to do," Hill said. "[Allegiant Stadium is] a critical community asset. It is driving tourism right now at a time more than ever that we need to drive tourism."

The public money will come from the fund created during a special legislative session through an increase in hotel room taxes — 0.88 percent on the Strip and nearby areas and 0.5 percent elsewhere — to cover $750 million of the stadium's overall cost. The Raiders and other private funding sources paid for more than $1.1 billion of the construction costs.

Hill said the Stadium Authority would not use funds set aside as reserve to pay bonds. 

"We will own the enhancement. The Raiders will be responsible for the maintenance of [the stadium]," Hill said. "We need to make sure that the scope and costs are reasonable, which we will do throughout the process. We need to make sure that the project is a benefit to the public."

Construction isn't expected to begin until after the Raiders' season ends in January. The goal is to complete the new plaza by late 2028 — before the 2029 Super Bowl.

In addition to the Raiders, Allegiant is the home stadium for UNLV football and hosts other sports, such as soccer, boxing and UFC mixed martial arts events. The venue has also hosted high-profile concerts, including Taylor Swift, South Korean pop group BTS and The Rolling Stones.

Allegiant hosted the Super Bowl in 2024 and will host the NFL championship game again in 2029. In the next two years, Allegiant will host the College Football Championship in January and NCAA Men's Final Four Basketball games in April 2028.

The new entry would create a more direct path to the venue by remaining on an elevated walkway. Currently, eventgoers who park vehicles east of Interstate 15 at MGM Resorts Entertainment properties walk above the freeway, across the nearby Hacienda Avenue bridge, which is shut down to vehicular traffic.