Las Vegas Bowl will be played in new stadium in 2020

The Las Vegas Bowl will be getting a major upgrade in the near future.

Beginning in 2020, the Las Vegas Bowl will be played in the new, state-of-the-art Las Vegas Stadium, and will feature a team from the Pac-12 Conference against a team from either the SEC or Big Ten Conference in a six-year deal announced Tuesday at the Palms Resort.

The new agreement will run from the 2020 game through the 2025 game, and the Las Vegas Bowl will be moved to a post-Christmas date for the first time. During those years, the Las Vegas Bowl will get the No. 2 selection (after the College Football Playoff selection) from the Pac-12 and share that position with the Holiday Bowl.

"We are excited to continue our partnership with the Las Vegas Bowl and to join with the SEC, Big Ten, Las Vegas Stadium, ESPN and LVCVA to take the Las Vegas Bowl to the next level of success in the years to come,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The experience of hosting some of our premier Pac-12 events in Las Vegas has been tremendous for our student-athletes, universities and fans, and to have the opportunity to play in such an incredible stadium against top quality competition on a national stage through ESPN will be welcomed by our student-athletes and fans."

This is a big step up in competition for the event, as two power conferences will now participate in the game.  The new stadium doesn't hurt either.

The Las Vegas Bowl will share a Big Ten spot with the Music City Bowl after the CFP, Citrus, and Outback selections, and will host a team here in 2021, ’23, and ’25.

The Las Vegas Bowl will share a spot with the Belk Bowl in the SEC “pool of six” that follows the CFP and Citrus selections, and will host a team here in 2020, ’22, and ’24.

“We are pleased to add the Las Vegas Bowl to the SEC bowl lineup,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “The Las Vegas Bowl provides the SEC with a new and exciting destination for our student-athletes and traveling fans at a location outside our traditional geographic footprint and in a much-anticipated matchup with a Pac-12 Conference opponent."

Since the game debuted in 1992, every Las Vegas Bowl has been played at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium, which is located seven miles from the World Famous Las Vegas Strip. In 2020 the event will move to the $1.8 billion Las Vegas Stadium currently under construction near Las Vegas Boulevard. Also the new home of the NFL’s Raiders franchise and UNLV football, capacity will be approximately 65,000, including 128 suites.

The 2019 Las Vegas Bowl will be played Saturday, Dec. 21, at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET) at Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will be televised nationally during primetime on ABC, featuring the top choice from the Mountain West against a team from the Pac-12 Conference.  The Las Vegas Bowl is one of 15 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com