Tuesday’ SportsBiz Roundup: Raiders Stadium Hosts 2021 Pro Bowl; Big D Heads To Nashville; VGK Fans Mourn Loss Of Popular Arena Usher
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Raiders have lined up one of their 46 live events for their new stadium in Las Vegas in 2021.
The NFL Pro Bowl — the league’s all-star game that has been played in Orlando at Camping World Stadium — will be staged at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium Jan. 31.
The Pro Bowl game itself may not be not be the most exciting entertainment form, but the league tries to make the days leading up to the all-star game fun for fans in the host market.
It’s typically a week of activities, including FLAG championship games and a skills competition that has become a regular for all all-star game events in the NBA, MLB and NHL.
Las Vegas missed out on hosting the NFL Draft in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Commissioner Roger Goodell announced during the virtual draft two months ago that Las Vegas would get the draft event in 2022.
Nearly a year ago, the Raiders picked AEG to manage the 65,000-seat domed venue on 62 acres on the west side of I-15 across from Mandalay Bay. Besides being the home stadium for the NFL Raiders and UNLV football team, the Las Vegas Bowl and Pac-12 championship game in 2020 and 2021 are scheduled for Raiders stadium.
Wayne Danielson, the man known as Big D on the radio and at sports events in Las Vegas, was perfectly at ease with a mic in his hand.
He was a roaming arena announcer at NHL Vegas Golden Knights games at T-Mobile Arena and WNBA Las Vegas Aces games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. At Golden Knights games, he teamed with Mark Shunnock to pump up the big, loud crowds at the Big Ice House by the Strip.
Well, Danielson is off to Nashville for a new iHeartMedia radio job after working radio gigs here in Las Vegas and in Minneapolis; LaCrosse, Wisconsin; and Leighton/St. Clooud, Minnesota.
Here in Las Vegas and at VGK home games, he’ll always be remembered for his big arena personality and his friendly nature with fans. Before Golden Knights games, he would hang with with a young fans and advise the youngster to speak into the mic and say, “Wags, ring the bells,” to let VGK music man Jake Wagner it was time to hit the bells to signal the VGK players to hit the ice.
Danielson got a nice send-off from the VGK, Aces and his fans this week on social media.
Danielson and hundreds of other Golden Knights fans mourned the loss of popular T-Mobile Arena usher Mike Cohen, who died recently.
Sports venue ushers are part of the game-day experiences for so many fans, and Cohen was a beloved usher who was known for his Teddy Bear and funny personality. His Facebook page said he lived in Henderson and he was from Northe Platte, Nebraska.
So many other fans also mourned the loss of Cohen.
The city of Las Vegas said Tuesday that the Clark County-City of Las Vegas’ temporary Isolation and Quarantine Complex in the parking of the Cashman Center where the Las Vegas Lights play their pro soccer games is scheduled to close June 30. It has served more than 230 people since opening April 13, when LVSportsBiz.com reported the opening of the temporary facility. .
The complex was a safe place fort 234 people experiencing homelessness. It was used for the homeless to quarantine, to ensure that others were not infected and, in some cases, allowed people to recover from COVID-19.
Complex staff also oversaw the administering of 846 COVID-19 tests, and helped a total of 20 COVID-19 positive individuals recover. In addition, more than 17,000 health screenings have occurred at the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center since April 13.
While the ISO-Q complex is set to close June 30, the county will continue to find housing and care for medically fragile homeless individuals who would have been placed at the Cashman facility. Those placements are expected to largely be at county-funded facilities. The city will continue to operate the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center as a haven for any who are in need, according to a city press release.
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