Las Vegas Vipers Have Arrived, But Where Will They Play?

The XFL officially announced the team names and logos on Halloween when Las Vegas finally got its identity. The Vipers are returning to the XFL but not as you imagine. This time, as the Las Vegas Vipers are on the other side of the country, they are ready to strike any opponents. Instead of being in the Tampa Bay waters, they are making their home in the Nevada desert.

With the Vipers team name returning, it is unknown if the league will keep Tampa Bay Vipers stats heading into XFL 3.0 season when we kick off in 2023 or if this is just a brand new team with no prior relation to the 2020 season. We know that the Vipers are currently facing the fact they don’t have a home, and things just got a lot more complicated, but first, let’s rewind a bit to introduce the Las Vegas Vipers to everyone formally.

The Vegas Vipers Introduction

While the XFL didn’t revive one the most favorite Las Vegas Football team from the 2001 XFL season, the Las Vegas Outlaws, the Vegas Vipers, are going to take their instinct to incapacitate anyone unlucky enough to move into their line of fire.

Something that Rod Woodson commented on the Pat Mcafee Show back in September about Vegas’s team name being “dangerous,” which led to a lot of people thinking the outlaws were coming back to town. Instead, we get a venomous snake that roams the Las Vegas desert floor waiting to attack its prey, and with only two weeks away from the XFL draft, could we see Rod Woodson and staff build the ultimate team to take on the rest of the XFL this season?

Name, Logo, and Colors

The initial reaction to the Las Vegas revel was very favorable across the internet; on Twitter, they have over 1,773 followers, and just over 2,840 followers on Instagram. My initial reaction to the colors and logo was impressed, with black and red being two of my favorite colors. Adding a new Vipers logo makes the Viper’s fangs stand out in a bright red and white, ready to take the field in 2023. Many people have asked whether there will be alternate logos like there were in 2020. ESPN may have given us an answer before being removed from the article they posted on Monday showing a Las Vegas Vipers alternate logo that can be seen below; only time will tell what happens with this “LV” alternate logo.

Can we see this LV on the jerseys? Based on Rod Woodson’s comments in September, we can only assume that he has already seen the uniforms for the Vipers and said they were the best, hands down. You can see below Woodson’s initial reaction to the Viper’s name and logo with a box the XFL sent him at some point to react.

Issues with home for Las Vegas Vipers

The biggest issue with the Las Vegas Vipers is when the city of Las Vegas was announced as an XFL city back at the XFL Town Hall on July 25th, 2022, at Texas Live! There was a tib bit about the Las Vegas team that their location in Las Vegas would be TBA.

It is now three months later and 3 and half months away from the kickoff, and every possible stadium in Las Vegas has been a no go for the XFL. Let’s break down the top locations in Las Vegas where everyone expected them to play.

• Sam Boyd Stadium

It seemed like a perfect reunion for the XFL and the Las Vegas city to live the nostalgic past of the memories from 2001 with the Las Vegas Outlaws and the average of 22,618 fans that attended the Outlaws game. Still, that hope halted when we all learned that UNLV took a deal with the Allegiant Stadium. Where for compensation yearly up to 3.5 million dollars over 10 year period of time UNLV would not allow any events held there with a no-compete clause has eliminated any dreams that the XFL would return to Sam Boyd Stadium.

• Las Vegas Ballpark

A baseball stadium is another excellent option; where the NFL recently held Pro Bowl events at the stadium last year and turned it into a football field. Before the NFL, Bishop Gorman vs. Liberty prep football game was held at the stadium. But just in recent talks reported today by LVSportsBiz.com, Aviators Prez Don Logan told them, “It doesn’t fit here” and suggested the XFL look at Cashman Field as Vipers home.

Even though in prior interviews, Don Logan was quoted saying the ballpark could be transformed into a midsized venue for high school football and other special events and that “It depends (on the event), but I think we have to do stuff like that.”

• Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas Raiders Home)

When this idea first came about back at the end of July, I had personally questioned it right off the bat. I’ve heard numerous stories from friends who have attended WWE Summer Slam, Concerts, and Las Vegas Raiders games. The cost of everything, including tickets, is so high that there is no way the XFL could attempt to have the same price for tickets as other teams for the 2023 season if they were to be at Allegiant Stadium. That is just the case with what LVSportsBiz.com reported in that same article “It seems like the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium would have too many seats and be too expensive to rent for XFL Games.” So, where does that leave the XFL?

• Cashman Field

A former baseball stadium turned into a soccer team and home of the Las Vegas Lights FC, with a 10,000-seat stadium located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. Cashman Field is, at this point, XFL’s last option before they have to go into panic mode. After a lot has fallen apart, I wanted to dive into why this may be the best choice for the Vipers. With some research, I found that with the seating chart and the space around the stadium, they could partner up with the Las Vegas Lights FC. The latter currently call the stadium home and add fixed bleachers on the opposite side of the field as the XFL did in 2019-2020 for what is now known as Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, TX. which added 4,000 fixed seats to the former home of the Texas Rangers. With this move, it is possible to get the attendance more towards 14-15k. Suppose not; this could help a potentially unknown market for spring football to fill a stadium up with less attendance to look better on television and in person. Can the Vegas Vipers move into Cashman Field and build a fan base like the Las Vegas Lights FC has?

Is something close to being finalized?

The Las Vegas Vipers Twitter account, as recent as an hour ago, posted a post about tickets and how you could get tickets for the Vipers as low as $20 a game and promoted season ticket pre-sell. Will Las Vegas Vipers secure a stadium before the fans get to choose their seats and guarantee their season tickets this Friday? The league started sending out season ticket seating charts, prices, and more that was reported earlier this week by Mark Perry.

Still, one thing was noted Las Vegas had no email go out to fans, including myself, who pre-ordered season tickets for Las Vegas. A thing to note is that season ticket sales start for the general public on November 16th, the same day as the XFL draft, which is taking place in Las Vegas. With details still being determined about the draft overall, it is a situation the league faces with possibly pushing away season ticket holders if something is not set in stone soon. If I were a betting man, which I am not, we would see the announcement from the league on the Las Vegas location within the next week.

Stay tuned to XFLNewshub.com for any development on the Las Vegas Vipers home and where they will play during the 2023 season.