The Raiders 2020 schedule was unveiled Thursday, but what affect will the coronavirus pandemic have on the schedule and will fans be allowed to attend home games at Allegiant Stadium? Well, who knows? But for one day anyway, football fans in Las Vegas today seemed to enjoy embracing the first-ever season schedule for an NFL team based here in Sin City.
Take a look at the sked — it features no less than four prime time TV games at the new palatial domed stadium that is a short walk off the Strip. In other words, the networks like ESPN and NBC seem infatuated with hanging in Las Vegas during the NFL season — for a few days anyway.
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The Raiders open the season on the road Sept. 13 in Carolina and then christen the new 65,000-seat stadium for its first regular season game Sept. 21 in a Monday Night Football showdown with the New Orleans Saints and star quarterback Drew Brees.
Naturally, these dates won’t mean much if the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 73,000 Americans, forces the NFL to alter the season and schedule. It’s also unclear whether fans will be allowed to attend games. Social distancing will be here for a while — but how long is a while?
In Las Vegas, the Raiders sold out its season tickets and personal seat license revenue soared to nearly $500 million. But what’s the impact on fans? Too early to say.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden discusses the schedule here, noting the “adverse time” of the COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled the sports industry here in the U.S. and around the world.
“Let’s beat the virus,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said on a Raiders video on the schedule release.
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