Take an Exclusive Tour Inside the Famed Madden Cruiser
Henderson, Nev.--Las Vegas Raiders Hall of Fame coach and NFL ICON John Madden may not be alive anymore, but his legacy lives on.
Madden's legendary Madden Cruiser is in town this week for the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Los Angeles Chargers game. You can take an EXCLUSIVE tour of the bus. I toured it earlier today.
You can also take a tour of the ICONIC bus if you have a ticket to the game on Sunday. Allegiant Stadium gates will open at 1 p.m. for this special event. It will be parked on the west side of Allegiant Stadium.
Here are some other interesting factoids courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders;
• In circa 1986, George Gravley, a Greyhound Lines public relations man, heard Madden in an interview said he was thinking about a bus. Gravley arranged to have Greyhound a bus that with modifications that was worth about $500,000 in 1987.
• Madden stopped boarding planes and traveling by air in 1979.
• Greyhound offered the bus a custom-fitted 40-foot MCI motor coach and two drivers that would be available 24 hours a day in 1987 in exchange Madden agreed to a series (approximately 30 that first year) of motivational speeches to the company’s employees.
• Madden began his broadcast career in 1979 with CBS as a commentator and was still with the network during the time he traveled on Madden Cruiser I. He was the first sportscaster to work on all of the “Big Four” networks; in 1994, Madden and Pat Summerall jumped to the Fox network; in 2002, Madden switched to the ABC network for the 2002 season where he was paired with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels; in 2006, NBC recruited him to jump networks again
• In 1994, after seven years and more than 600,000 miles on the road, Madden received another motor coach, “Madden Cruiser II.” The new custom bus was five feet longer than the original and had a raised roof.
• There were six motor coaches total from 1987 until 2009, the last one debuting in 2005. Sponsors for the later busses included Walker Mufflers and Outback Steakhouse.
• Although the bus had a bed during his travels, Madden usually slept in a hotel and the bus was parked nearby.
• Madden’s costs on the bus were food and telephone calls.
• The Madden Cruiser is stored at a local offsite bus management storage facility during the school year and will be on campus during the summer months and for special events
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