Where do the Vegas Vipers play? Fans slam XFL team's home stadium as "Literal Dump"

The XFL came home to the entertainment capital as the Vegas Vipers kicked off at Cashman Field against the DC Defenders. Instead of talking about the game, the first point of contention became the stadium they were playing in.

Since the XFL is, at the moment, a smaller product than the NFL, it makes sense that they are playing in a smaller stadium than their NFL counterparts. However, it is not a football stadium and must be repurposed to hold the games.

Cashman Field was originally built as a baseball park for the Las Vegas Stars. It is named for James "Big Jim" Cashman, who have been generational local entrepreneurs. Unlike other baseball parks, it has a more squarish shape. Much before the Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas, the Oakland Athletics also used the facility when their stadium was under renovation in 1996.

Even though baseball teams continued using it for other purposes like spring training since 2017 it has been mainly a soccer stadium. Given its shape, it could be easily repurposed for the purpose of serving as the home stadium of Las Vegas Lights FC. They have used the stadium since 2018.

However, that limits the capacity since the football and soccer field is not at the center of the facility, but aligned with one edge. It limits its capacity to only around 10,000.

Fans react to Vegas Vipers using the Cashman Field

Fans were divided by the facilities and the field at Cashman Field. Some of them lambasted it, whereas others were more charitable to the homely setting. Here are some of the reactions from Twitter.

Despite its limitations, it still provides salvation for the Vegas Vipers. At one point it looked likely that they might have to play at a high school stadium. That they have managed to secure at least a two-year contract gives them some security. Additionally, having two primary tenants might allow the stadium to develop further in the future.

They could not find another stadium because any agreement for the Allegiant Stadium would have proved pricey with the Las Vegas Raiders. Another option was the Sam Boyd stadium that belongs to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. However, with them having moved to Allegiant as well, due to a non-compete clause, they had to close the stadium and consider disposing of it altogether. As such, Cashman Field was the only viable option for the Vegas Vipers.

Furthermore, one must remember that because of this dire situation, it was only ten days ago that the local council gave them permission to host XFL games there. To put it into perspective, that was after the Super Bowl had concluded and the XFL less than a week away from kicking off. The contract is for nine home games each in 2023 and 2024.

The Vegas Vipers will pay the city only $10,000 per game, so it makes perfect economic sense as well. There might not have been enough time to make the stadium ideal for football in such a short turnaround time.

In such a short period of time, there have been some improvements made to the field already. Videos showed them using the latest technology to add hash marks to the field. A screen was set up using scaffolding as well.

Considering the average attendance for XFL games so far, the Vegas Vipers might be able to sell out of the stadium as well, unlike other teams. Given the nominal amount they might pay for each game hosted, they might be in a better economic position due to Cashman Field than other XFL teams. Considering that the league has gone bankrupt before, that might not be the worst idea in the world.