By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
Mark Davis is seeing the contrast on back-to-back days.
On Sunday at noon, the Aces/Raiders owner saw 10,000 Las Vegas people crammed into an arena on the Strip, screaming as loud as they can yell to root on the Las Vegas Aces to a victory over the New York Liberty. Hometown crowd for WNBA Finals Game 1 in Las Vegas: check.
On Monday at 5 PM, people from Wisconsin and other spots around the country wearing green and yellow helped fill a domed stadium across the highway from the Strip and watched the Green Bay Packers play the “hometown” Raiders before more than 62,500 fans. Hometown crowd on Monday Night Football in Las Vegas: No check in the box.
That’s life in Las Vegas.
The WNBA Aces — like the Raiders — migrated here to Sin City.
But MGM Resorts International rebranded the former San Antonio franchise and the Aces felt emotionally to the Las Vegas market as a new team that was created in Las Vegas.
Not so for the Raiders, a moribund franchise mired in mediocrity that fled Oakland thanks to a glittering, amenity-packed, publicly-subsidized stadium a 15-minute walk from the Strip.
The stadium has turned into a tourist hotbed for visiting fans to root on whatever team is playing the Raiders under the dome. It was another crowd in Las Vegas where the fans roared when the visiting team made a good play. Attendance checked in at 62,572.
Sure, some of the hardcore Raiders fans from California still find their way to the parking lots outside the stadium, which was funded with $750 million in public dollars. The debt is being paid off with hotel room room fees.
Las Vegas is getting a peak at a dynamic that will play out when (or if) the Oakland Athletics ultimately build a $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat stadium on the Strip at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The public is helping build that stadium, too. A state law that was approved faster than traffic on the Las Vegas 215 beltway earmarked $380 million in government assistance to help the A’s build their stadium.
Davis will also see another Vegas team potentially steal the thunder of his Raiders on Monday Night Football.
The Vegas Golden Knights are here on the eve of their season-opener and championship banner unveiling at T-Mobile Arena set for Tuesday. And a certain trophy is going through the metal detectors here at Allegiant Stadium.
The Packers lead, 3-0, after one quarter.
Again, it must be disheartening to Raiders players to hear the crowd roaring when Jimmy Garoppolo gets sacked or a Packers player picks up a first down.
It’s not new.
It’s common in warm-weather markets like South Florida, Tampa Bay and Phoenix to see visiting teams’ fans buy up tickets and create a home field advantage on the road.
The Packers have split their first four games, while the Raiders have lost three straight games after defeating the Denver Broncos by a point in the season-opener on the road.
The Raiders have not scored 20 points in any of their four games in 2023.
In the second quarter the Raiders are looking for their first points.
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With 4:09 left to go in the second quarter, the Raiders cleaned up with a Garoppolo TD toss of nine yards to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
Raiders 7 Packers 3 in the second quarter.
Then Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane found Love in all the right places by picking off the former Utah State signal caller and setting up a short 26-yard Daniel Carlson field goal.
Raiders 10 Packers 3 with 2:32 left in the first half. That was the score at halftime.
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In the third quarter, Garoppolo threw his seventh interception and the Packers cashed in to tie the game.
AJ Dillon rumbled in from five yards out and Anders Carlson — Daniel’s younger brother who also booted at Auburn — booted the extra point. It’s 10-10 with a little more than eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
A long pass from Love to Christian Watson nearly produced a TD. But the Raiders defense held, limiting the Packers’ Carlson to a short FG.
After three quarters: Packers 13 Raiders 10
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Last year’s top yard-gainer on the ground, Josh Jacobs, ran it into the end zone for the Raiders and the Silver & Black led, 17-13, on the first play of the fourth quarter.
It was the game-winner when Amik Robertson intercepted Love in the end zone.
The Raiders improved to two wins and three losses after five games and face New England on Sunday.
“We need to use this momentum to our advantage,” Garoppolo said. “We have to move on to New England.”