By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It’s a good-looking shiny new stadium, this massive domed venue sitting off an interstate a 15-minute walk from the Las Vegas Strip.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium was christened on Monday Night Football, a TV platform once dominated by the old Raiders back in the days when the franchise consisted of a swashbuckling bunch of players like Stabler and Matusik and Hendricks.
But during these COVID-19 pandemic times, there was not a single fan inside the massive 65,000-seat palatial football playground. On TV, you hear the fake crowd noise. But inside this massive edifice on the west side of I-15 across from Mandalay Bay, it’s mostly quiet except for the periodic cheers of Saints players when Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was sacked in the first quarter, the officials blowing their whistles and the press box announcer calling each play. It was surreal to see an NFL game in person and hear as much noise as a high school football practice. The eyes just didn’t believe what the ears were hearing. An NFL game with not much noise at a historic first Las Vegas NFL game.
After the Raiders rallied to beat the New Orleans Saints, 34-24, quarterback Derek Carr told the media what the win at the first ever game at Allegiant Stadium meant to Las Vegas.
I’m happy for my city. I hope the fans in the Bay area are still excited. I can understand they’re hurt. I heard they’re hurt. I felt their pain as we left that game at the end of the year. I felt it. With that said, I am happy for our city Las Vegas, this is our town now. I know the people here at the casinos and other businesses I’ve seen have been out of work for a while, so hopefully they turned on the game and it put a smile on their face, and that means something to me — quarterback Derek Carr
This historic day of Las Vegas opening its much-coveted big super stadium was anti-climactic with no fans and no stadium debut celebrations except for the Thunderbirds that rocketed across the Las Vegas sky during the playing of the national anthem at 5:15 p.m. Kick-off was 5:17 p.m. — the first official football play in stadium history.
Southern Nevada sunk $750 million in public dollars into the construction of the stadium. That’s a record public subsidy for an NFL stadium. The entire stadium project was $2 billion, including $1.4 billion for construction only. Southern Nevada will have to raise more than $1 billion over a 30-year debt repayment period to pay off the $750 million.
Raiders owner Mark Davis, a down-to-earth owner by NFL standards, did not attend the stadium’s inaugural Raiders game. He said if fans can’t go then he won’t go either. So Davis watched the historic first home game in las Vegas from the franchise’s headquarters in Henderson.
Hotel occupancy rates are down to 42 percent in Las Vegas and hotel room tax revenues that’s paying the public’s share of the stadium construction are obviously way down, too. The Monday Night Football TV broadcast included some nice Chamber-of-Commerce scenes like marquees on the Strip. But those tourism exposure shots won’t deliver much these days since many entertainment venues are limited to 50 percent of capacity.
The Raiders are a transplanted team compared to the home-grown, organically-rooted Vegas Golden Knights. But Raiders fans got a taste of Golden Knights games when VGK national anthem singer Carnell “Golden Pipes” Johnson donned a Raiders jersey to sing the Star-Spangled Banner on a video tape
The Thunderbirds also pumped up fans with an anthem flyover. LVSB photographer J. Tyge O’Donnell captured the moment.
The Raiders got out to a slow start, trailing 10-0 to the powerful Saints team in period one.
But as the game wore on, the Raiders found their rhythm. The defense intercepted Saints Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees in period two, and the Raiders tied the score at halftime at 17-17 with a score late in the first half.
In period three, Raiders QB Derek Carr threw a go-ahead touchdown and the underdog Silver and Black led 24-17.
A touchdown run by Raiders running back Jalen Richard in period four gave the Las Vegas upstart squad a 31-17 lead with 7:43 left in regulation.
But the Saints responded with an Alvin Kamara touchdown run with 4:33 left in regulation and the Raiders lead was sliced in half to 31-24.
Raiders responded. They drove to field goal position and kicker Daniel Carlson blasted a 54-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 34-24 lead with 1:05 left in regulation.
Thrilled to be a part of the first win in our stadium against a great team and hopefully our fans even though they couldn’t be here tonight hopefully they saw something they liked. We can’t wait to get them back in the stadium. It’s such a great place to see a game. — Raiders coach Jon Gruden
The Raiders won a historic first game in Sin City in a stadium that nobody thought could be built five years ago. And the Al Davis memorial torch burned.
Final score in Game 1 in Las Vegas: Raiders 34 Saints 24.
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