Allegiant Stadium brought the NFL to Las Vegas but football already had a home in the desert long before the Raiders came to town.Cincinnati Bengals great Chad Johnson posted a picture of an abandoned stadium being reclaimed by the sand, asking what he was looking at.UNLV spent decades at Sam BoydGettyIt was Sam Boyd Stadium, which hosted the UNLV Rebels from 1971 through 2019.The Rebels joined the Raiders in Allegiant Stadium, bringing their former home’s story to an end. Clark County purchased it and the surrounding land for $5 million and the site will be redeveloped.UNLV’s former home opened in 1971 with a capacity of 15,000, which had more than doubled seven years later after a name change to the Las Vegas Silver Bowl.In 1984, it became the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl — in honor of the iconic hotel owner and gaming executive who helped shape the city.View Tweet: https://t.co/iCDGqToRl0By the time it became Sam Boyd Stadium a decade later, the Eagles and Paul McCartney had graced the turf.The 1990s brought a $17.5 million renovation with major upgrades to the facilities and the capacity raised to 40,000.It ensured the stadium’s final years played out, but the arrival of the Raiders was always going to spell doom for the quirky venue on the edge of the desert.“It’s got this special feel. We’re surrounded by the mountains, it’s always sunny out here,” former UNLV running back Joe Haro told KTNV Las Vegas after the Rebels’ final home game there.Fittingly for the entertainment capital of the world, Sam Boyd punched above its weight musically.The Grateful Dead drew 125,000 fans in their final Las Vegas run with the Dave Matthews Band, U2 kicked off its PopMart world tour here in 1997 and Lollapalooza, Metallica, and Ozzy Osbourne all played there.The stadium was updated but made way for a state-of-the-art rivalGettyAllegiant Stadium is a huge draw for VegasGettyThe Las Vegas Bowl arrived in 1993, with Monster Jam and Supercross hosting world finals in front of over 60,000 fans.Las Vegas becomes a sports MeccaVegas has always been a city of shifting sands and Allegiant will soon have competition when the A’s come to town.There are also calls to bring the NBA to Sin City in upcoming expansions, with the Aces already establishing a WNBA dynasty and the Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup.The Raiders haven’t matched of that winning mentality, although Fernando Mendoza has brought a burst of optimism with the No. 1 pick.For anybody worried the quarterback will be distracted by the bright lights, he has his head firmly in the game“I’ve been there once or twice, but I haven’t really experienced the Strip,” Mendoza told The Athletic after being drafted. “It’s like a boogeyman. A lot of people talk about The Strip like, ‘You don’t want to go there.’ The A’s are also hitting the StripGetty“It’s like when you’re a kid; you’re trick-or-treating, and there’s the haunted house. You’re not trying to go over there,” the rookie quarterback added.”Allegiant Stadium cost a whopping $1.9 billion and is already getting a remodel with $180 million being spent to create new pedestrian access areas.Join talkSPORT’s dedicated US Sports YouTube channel The S* Word every Tuesday and Thursday for our brand new NFL shows.On Tuesdays, Will Gavin and US senior reporter Brian T. Smith will debate the biggest talking points from the NFL weekend, while on Thursdays Efe Obada joins the crew to talk to players past and present and break down what to look for across the league.