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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
The Raiders are back.
And the Raiders are looking back as they look forward.
The team is projected to miss the playoffs again in 2023 after a 6-11 season in the Year 1 of the Dave Ziegler-Josh McDaniels regime.
While Allegiant Stadium security, ticket scanners, merch salespeople and operations personnel made their way to the Raiders venue for the preseason opener, the Raiders gladiators from the franchise’s Glory Days Super Bowl championships gathered in the Wynn Field Club behind the north end zone.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is big on alums and former “Once a Raider, Always a Raider” greats like Jim Otto, Fred Biletnikoff, Marcus Allen, Jim Plunkett and Ted Hendricks were on hand to remember the days when the Raiders competed for NFL titles.
Since 2003, the Raiders have won 36 percent of their games, winning 116 games while losing 206. Not too much of “Just Win, Baby” going on for the last two decades.
The Raiders brand transcends its play on the field.
The fans keep coming.
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LVSportsBiz.com chatted with Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan about her imprint on the team’s business operations since she took over the front office slightly more than a year ago. Take a listen:
SDM has worked to clean up a front office mess marked by allegations of discrimination and hostile workplace issues that dogged the Raiders in the media since former president Marc Badain left two years ago because of financial issues.
The Raiders, financially, cleaned up bigtime when they moved to Las Vegas because of the $30 million stadium founding partnerships, the more than $500 million in personal seat license revenues and ticket revenues that lead the NFL. The franchise was valued at more than $5 billion thanks to the revenue-generating powers of the subsidized domed stadium that was built, in part, thanks to the $750 million in Southern Nevada public dollars.
Morgan is a Las Vegas local and lawyer who has worked in a variety of jobs from local government to the corporate world to gambling regulation, so her Rolodex is filled with a long list of contacts.
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Woodson has a new bourbon whiskey that he is marketing through the Raiders.
It’s being sold at today’s Raiders game where attendance checked in at 61,985.
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AS for the exhibition game, first-year Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell, wearing Derek Carr’s number four jersey, led the team on a drive that resulted in a short touchdown run by Zamir White, the second-year pro out of Georgia.
Much like the 49ers-Raiders game during the 2022 season here at Allegiant Stadium, today’s game was attended by tens of thousands of 49ers fans based on the red-clad fans around the domed venue across the interstate from Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. Take a look:
While Davis has lamented all the opposition fans filling seats at Allegiant Stadium for Raiders home games, those visiting fans — if they’re buying hotel rooms — are paying a hotel room tax and helping pay off Southern Nevada’s public debt on the $750 million metro Las Vegas contributed to the construction of the domed, 62.500-seat stadium.
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After three quarters, the Raiders defense looked good and O’Connell showed poise and accuracy in leading the Raiders to a 24-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
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McDaniels was pleased with the team’s defensive play, but noted there are some mistakes to clean up. The Raiders are off to Los Angeles to scrimmage against the Rams this week before playing an exhibition game on Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
McDaniels noted the schemes of the 49ers and Rams were drastically different, which was a reason why they set up the games and practice weeks against these two particular teams.