Aces owner Mark Davis and Aces team president Nikki Fargas before Thursday's Aces home game in Las Vegas. Photo credit: J. Tyge O'Donnell/LVSportsBiz.com

Sunday In Las Vegas: Mark Davis’ Raiders vs Mark Davis’ Aces

Aces/Raiders owner Mark Davis talking with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak. Photo credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell/LVSportsBiz.com

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

Mark Davis attends every Las Vegas Raiders game.

Davis also attends just about every Las Vegas Aces game.

Davis, who owns both the NFL Raiders and WNBA Aces, will have a choice to make Sunday — for part of the day, anyway.

His Aces host the Seattle Storm at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena at 12 Noon. His Raiders also host the Minnesota Vikings in a preseason game at Allegiant Stadium right across Interstate 15 from the Aces arena at 1:25 PM.

What’s an owner of two teams to do?

“This is the first time I’ve had this problem,” Davis told LVSportsBiz.com before Tuesday’s Aces-Atlanta WNBA game at Mandalay Bay. “If the game has playoff implications, I might make the decision to be here.”

Aces/Raiders owner Mark davis (far right) chatting at tonight’s Aces game. Photo credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell/LVSportsBiz.com

If Davis can’t attend the Aces game because of the Raiders game, Aces team president Nikki Fargas told Davis, “We got you covered.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis at Allegiant Stadium. Photo credit: LVSportsBiz.com

 

Aces owner Mark Davis courtside at Michelob Areba for a recent Aces game. Photo: J. Tyge O’Donnell/LVSportsBiz.com

Davis can watch the Aces-Storm basketball game, which is being nationally televised on ABC-TV from noon to 2 PM. The high-profile game features WNBA star Sue Bird’s final regular season appearance. The Aces and Storm are also first and second in the WNBA’s Western Conference.

If Davis watches the entire Aces game, he might miss the first quarter or so of the Raiders-Vikings preseason matchup. But after the Aces game, he can hightail it over the Hacienda Avenue bridge from Mandalay Bay’s arena to Allegiant Stadium to catch the rest of the Raiders game.

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The Raiders were back outside Tuesday morning, practicing at their Henderson HQ.

 

The Aces, which will have their training center at the Raiders HQ site, have three games this week.

The Aces defeated Atlanta tonight, 97-90, and play Chicago Thursday at 7 PM and then the big showdown against the Seattle Storm involving Bird’s last regular season game Sunday at noon.

If we see Davis at tonight’s Aces game, LVSportsBiz.com will ask him about his strategy about watching both the Raiders and Aces in person Sunday.

One thing is for sure, plan ahead for your parking if you’re attending the Aces game at Mandalay Bay Sunday because many fans who attend Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium park at the Mandalay Bay garage and at neighboring MGM Resorts International properties.


 

Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.