Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

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UNLV officials hope to replace turf at Sam Boyd Stadium

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

A look at Sam Boyd Stadium during the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.

UNLV officials might not be done making upgrades to Sam Boyd Stadium.

Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy said Tuesday they hope to replace the turf playing surface at the stadium, which hosts UNLV football games. The project is estimated at $400,000-$700,000 and would replace turf installed in 2003.

In May, a new $400,000 LED video board was installed in the north end zone. The 21-by-48-foot board is double the width of the previous screen, which had been used since 1999.

Kunzer-Murphy said she hopes the turf will be changed for the 2015 season. The project, however, hinges on fundraising.

“We’re going to get that done,” she said.

Kunzer-Murphy has worked aggressively to upgrade the game-day environment at Sam Boyd in her one-year tenure at the helm of the department. UNLV, of course, is still pursuing building an on-campus facility.

Also, Kunzer-Murphy said UNLV is close to finalizing a road game at a big-name opponent for the nonleague schedule in the 2017 and 2019 seasons.

In 2015, UNLV plays at Michigan, which will net a guaranteed $1 million payday. She aspires to schedule a similar-quality opponent every two years.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.

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