Las Vegas Raiders to host Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in 2021

The NFL announced today that the Raiders will host the 2021 Pro Bowl at their new home Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The NFL seems to be quite excited about their newfound presence in Las Vegas, now that the Raiders are officially home in the desert. The league planned to welcome fans to Sin City this year by holding the NFL Draft there, but due to the COVID-19 crisis they were forced to reschedule.

The NFL Draft was rescheduled to take place in Las Vegas in 2022, but the NFL has decided to hold another marquee event there in the meantime.

In a video narrated by future Hall of Famer and current Raiders tight end Jason Witten, the NFL announced on Twitter that the 2021 Pro Bowl would take place at Allegiant Stadium. The Pro Bowl was most recently held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida after nearly 35 years of being a fixture at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The 2021 Pro Bowl heads to Vegas

The NFL has tinkered with the Pro Bowl format, location and timing in recent years in an effort to make it more relevant and exciting. For many years the Pro Bowl took place after the Super Bowl and was a coronation of sorts for the recently crowned champions, but to capitalize on the pre-Super Bowl interest they moved it to the week prior to the Super Bowl.

Also, thanks to the deteriorating infrastructure of Aloha Stadium, the NFL has opted to hold the game in more modern facilities in cities or regions that still have mild weather in January.

The NFL has long shied away from any connections to sports gambling but due to the rise in legalization the NFL is more than happy to have a home in the sports gambling capital of the United States. This suggests that the NFL will be invested in the success of their product in Las Vegas and by extension the success of the Raiders in their new home.

Maybe they can call off the refs and have them be a little more fair to the Silver and Black. Heading into the 2020 NFL season, the Raiders have a bunch of guys who could be headed to the Pro Bowl, including star running back Josh Jacobs.

Since the NFL has moved the Pro Powl to before the Super Bowl, most fans will be hoping that their players are too busy preparing for the Super Bowl to participate but in case the Raiders fall short of the big game, at least our Pro Bowlers will not have to travel very far to take part.