The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and general manager. The Locomotives have appeared in all three UFL Championship Games, winning both the 2009 and 2010 iterations; the Locos are also the last of the four charter UFL franchises to remain in its original home city, to retain its original head coach, and to have played all of its home games at the same venue.
Franchise history[edit]
The Locomotives were one of the first markets to be considered for a UFL city, being mentioned as a location from the beginning. When the league released in early 2008 its tentative list of six markets for its inaugural season, it included Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Hartford, Orlando, and San Francisco. When the league contracted to four teams prior to the start of the 2009 season, Las Vegas merged with Los Angeles, while New York merged with Hartford. Eventually, despite New York and Los Angeles being the larger markets, Las Vegas and Hartford were given sole rights to their teams, and Las Vegas never played a game in the Los Angeles metro area.
2009 season[edit]
Las Vegas was awarded a franchise for the inaugural season of the UFL in 2009. The team named Jim Fassel as head coach, who led his team to a 4–2 record in his first season. In the 2009 UFL Championship Game, the Locos defeated the then-undefeated Florida Tuskers to become the league's first champions.
Schedule[edit]
| Week |
Date |
Kickoff |
Opponent |
Results |
Game site |
Attendance |
TV |
| Final score |
Team record |
| 1 |
Thursday, October 8 |
9:00 p.m. ET |
California Redwoods |
W 30–17 |
1–0 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
18,187 |
Versus |
| 2 |
Wednesday, October 14 |
9:00 p.m. ET |
Florida Tuskers |
L 15–29 |
1–1 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
12,160 |
Versus |
| 3 |
Bye |
| 4 |
Friday, October 30 |
7:00 p.m. ET |
at Florida Tuskers |
L 24–27 |
1–2 |
Tropicana Field |
11,354 |
HDNet |
| 5 |
Wednesday, November 4 |
7:00 p.m. ET |
at New York Sentinels |
W 41–10 |
2–2 |
James M. Shuart Stadium |
4,392 |
Versus |
| 6 |
Saturday, November 14 |
9:00 p.m. ET |
at California Redwoods |
W 16–10 |
3–2 |
Spartan Stadium |
4,312 |
HDNet |
| 7 |
Friday, November 20 |
9:00 p.m. ET |
New York Sentinels |
W 41–7 |
4–2 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
13,306 |
HDNet |
Championship Game[edit]
| Date |
Kickoff |
Opponent |
Final score |
Game site |
Attendance |
TV |
| Friday, November 27 |
3:00 p.m. ET |
Florida Tuskers |
W 20–17 (OT) |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
14,801 |
Versus |
2010 season[edit]
Prior to the 2010 season, head coach Jim Fassel added the title of general manager, replacing league-wide general manager Rick Mueller, who handled the duties in 2009.[1] The team also made a small tweak to its color scheme with red replacing the league-standard teal color in the trim of the logo for the 2010 season. On November 27, 2010, the Locomotives won their second UFL championship, again beating the Florida Tuskers with a final score of 23-20.
Schedule[edit]
| Week |
Date |
Kickoff |
Opponent |
Results |
Game site |
Attendance |
TV |
| Final score |
Team record |
| 1 |
Saturday, September 18 |
8:00 p.m. PT |
Florida Tuskers |
L 20–27 |
0–1 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
9,103 |
HDNet |
| 2 |
Bye |
| 3 |
Thursday, September 30 |
3:00 p.m. PT |
at Florida Tuskers |
W 20–17 |
1–1 |
Citrus Bowl |
9,053 |
Versus |
| 4 |
Friday, October 8 |
7:00 p.m. PT |
Omaha Nighthawks |
W 22–10 |
2–1 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
9,767 |
HDNet |
| 5 |
Friday, October 15 |
8:00 p.m. PT |
at Sacramento Mountain Lions |
W 26–3 |
3–1 |
Hornet Stadium |
19,000 |
HDNet |
| 6 |
Saturday, October 23 |
12:30 p.m. PT |
Hartford Colonials |
W 24–21 (OT) |
4–1 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
8,451 |
Versus |
| 7 |
Thursday, October 28 |
5:00 p.m. PT |
at Omaha Nighthawks |
W 24–10 |
5–1 |
Rosenblatt Stadium |
23,554 |
HDNet |
| 8 |
Saturday, November 6 |
8:00 p.m. PT |
Sacramento Mountain Lions |
L 24–27 |
5–2 |
Sam Boyd Stadium |
13,622 |
Versus |
| 9 |
Bye |
| 10 |
Saturday, November 20 |
12:30 p.m. PT |
at Hartford Colonials |
L 14–27 |
5–3 |
Rentschler Field |
14,554 |
Versus |
| Date |
Kickoff |
Opponent |
Final score |
Game site |
Attendance |
TV |
| Saturday, November 27 |
3:00 p.m. ET |
Florida Tuskers |
W 23–20 |
Rosenblatt Stadium |
15,310 |
Versus |
2011 season[edit]
Prior to the 2011 season, head coach and general manager Jim Fassel added the title of team President. Fassel assumed more authority over the team as part of the league's efforts to transform its original top-down business model into one in which teams are given more authority over their own operations. Among the reforms Fassel implemented was an increase in direct marketing and the establishment of the league's first team-run Web site separate from the main UFL Web site. The move initially doubled the team's season ticket base.[2]
Despite the gain in season ticket base, the Locomotives drew only 6,500 fans to their first home game, which was a factor in the league deciding to cut its season short and cancel the Locomotives' two remaining games.
Schedule[edit]
2012 season[edit]
The increasingly poor attendance at Sam Boyd Stadium jeopardized the Locomotives' future in Las Vegas. Hambrecht openly considered relocating the team to Salt Lake City, Utah, setting a late January deadline for his decision.[3] On January 31, 2012, Hambrecht announced (the same day the league commissioner resigned) that, should the fall 2012 season go on, the Locomotives would stay in Las Vegas.[4] The league also considered moving to Cashman Field, a smaller baseball park in Las Vegas, but despite negotiations with Cashman Field, the team returned to Sam Boyd Stadium for the first two games in 2012.
By the start of the 2012 season, the Locomotives proved to be the best team on the field in the UFL, decisively winning its first two contests against Virginia and Omaha. However, the Locomotives' off-field problems were becoming even worse. Only 2,500 fans arrived at Sam Boyd Stadium for the first contest,[5] followed by a paltry 601 fans at the start of the second contest,[6] the worst attendance for a league of the UFL's caliber in modern professional football history. Both games were held early on Wednesday evenings, which was speculated to have held down attendance. With already low attendance numbers dropping further across the league, the UFL shut down operations four weeks into the season.
On January 16, 2013, the majority of the Locomotives' roster filed a class-action lawsuit against Hambrecht for unpaid salaries.
Season-by-season records[edit]
Home, away and neutral records[edit]
| Location |
Wins |
Losses |
Pct. |
| Home |
4 |
3 |
.571 |
| Away |
5 |
2 |
.714 |
| Neutral |
2 |
1 |
.666 |
Logos and uniforms[edit]
In the inaugural 2009 season, all teams were to adopt color schemes from the UFL logo. The Locos were given silver as their primary color. They would wear silver helmets on both road and home, with silver jerseys at home and white on the road. The Locos also wore blue pants.
For the 2010 season, teams were able to change their colors. The Locos kept the silver, but replaced the UFL blue with UNLV red. In an attempt to "match with their environment", the Locos adapted to the main color scheme of the team's stadium into their uniform, thus emulating the colors of UNLV who call Sam Boyd Stadium home. The Locos now have red jerseys at home and white on the road, with silver pants.
Current personnel[edit]
Current staff[edit]
Current roster[edit]
Las Vegas Locomotives roster
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Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
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Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Special Teams
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Reserve Lists
Rookies in italics
Roster updated October 12, 2012
51 Active, 3 Inactive
→ More rosters
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References[edit]
External links[edit]
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Las Vegas Locomotives
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| The Franchise |
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| Stadiums |
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| Head Coaches |
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| Key Personnel |
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| UFL Championships (2) |
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UFL Championship
Appearances (3) |
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| Seasons (4) |
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| Current League Affiliation |
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