Pandemic and Sports: Raiders’ Inaugural 2020 Season At New Stadium Will Be Without Fans In Las Vegas
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Las Vegas Raiders told their season ticket holders Monday morning that Raiders games at new Allegiant Stadium will not have fans in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Raiders’ email delivered the disappointing news. Here is the section of the email that says no fans at home Raiders games at the new 65,000-seat, domed stadium, which was completed July 31.
Season ticket holder Phil Cory gave his reaction to LVSportsBiz.com after receiving the news from the Raiders: “Although it was kind of expected, I and several friends who purchased PSL’s were holding out hope. It’s truly unfortunate the impact that COVID has had on pro sports, especially here in Vegas. We were all excited to not only get into that stadium, but to see the NFL finally in our town.”
Here is the full statement sent by Raiders owner Mark Davis. It notes that fans can ask to receive a full refund of their 2020 season ticket payments or they can apply 2020 season ticket payments to the 2021 season.
Summerlin-based Allegiant Air, which has the stadium’s naming rights, released a statement, It read, in part: “Although we are disappointed that Raider Nation will not have the chance to experience the stadium in person this season, we know that millions of fans will be watching on TV and online, previewing this one-of-a-kind venue and building anticipation for the future. Once circumstances permit in-person game day experiences again, we anticipate that Allegiant Stadium will be a real catalyst for travel to Las Vegas moving forward.”
Not having fans at the new stadium is a big loss for Allegiant because the low-cost airline was hoping to transport football fans from around the U.S. to the palatial venue in Las Vegas.
The Garth Brooks concert, originally scheduled at Allegiant Stadium for Aug. 22, was moved to Feb. 27, 2021. One has to question whether Feb. 27 is too soon in light of a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 155,000 Americans.
The Raiders’ first scheduled home game is September 21 when the team plays the New Orleans Saints in a Monday Night home game.
The Raiders took in $549.2 million in personal seat license money — way above the original estimate of $290 million. Fans had to pay the personal seat license fee before they had a chance to buy their Raiders game tickets.
What about UNLV football games at Allegiant Stadium? Will those games have fans? UNLV is in wait-and-see mode and released this statement: “We are aware of the Raiders’ decision to play their games at Allegiant Stadium this season without fans in attendance. We continue to work with the Mountain West regarding our fall schedules, evaluating and making decisions based on guidance from national and local medical and health professionals, along with university leadership.”
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