Goodbye Raiders, Hello Golden Knights: Las Vegas Market Pivots From NFL to NHL In January Of New Year
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Buh-bye 2020 and Las Vegas Raiders.
Hello 2021 and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Raiders’ crazy yo-yo season of impressive wins over the Chiefs, Saints and Browns and ugly losses to the Dolphins and Falcons ends in Denver Sunday a day before the Golden Knights open the 2021 training camp at City National Arena in Summerlin for the truncated 56-game schedule that opens Jan. 14 at T-Mobile Arena.
The Raiders’ bizarre season was made even more strange by inaugurating a $2 billion stadium in Las Vegas without a single paid fan in the 65,000-seat domed stadium that was completed in late July.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights enter their fourth season after a pandemic bubble run ended in Edmonton in mid-September when VGK lost to Dallas in the Western Conference Finals and after a soap opera situation surfaced between goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and new starter Robin Lehner after Fleury’s agent posted a controversial picture.
Golden Knights fans also learned this morning that VGK are scheduled to play the Colorado Avalanche in the first of two outdoor NHL games in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on Feb. 20. The Knights are scheduled to play the Avs at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort at Lake Tahoe, while Philly is set to play Boston the next day Feb. 21 at the NHL’s two-day “Outdoor Weekend.”
The Knights training camp even has a presenting sponsor — Martin-Harris Construction. With no fans at games and all that lost revenue, the Golden Knights do have income from their many sponsors.
All practice sessions at City National Arena are closed to the general public, but each practice will be streamed daily as part of the Training Camp Bulletins with commentary provided by various VGK broadcasters.
