No fans allowed as Las Vegas Raiders open up Allegiant Stadium
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have a brand new stadium, but there will be no fans allowed at games this season as COVID-19 pandemic continues.
When the Raiders franchise decided that they will move to Las Vegas, there was no way they could have expected what would happen. Spending tons of money on a new stadium, the hope was that the 2020 season would be a special one, as Mike Mayock has done a tremendous job revamping this roster prior to the move.
Unfortunately, while Allegiant Stadium is going to be ready to roll for Week 1, fans of the team will not be allowed inside the stadium. The decision was made on Monday that there would be no fans at home games for the Raiders this season, putting an end to any questions the fan base may have had about attending games in 2020.
Vic Tafur from the Athletic tweeted this out on Monday.
The brand new $2 billion stadium is going to be one of the crown jewels of NFL stadiums, and the Raiders are going to christen it this season. The move to Las Vegas has proven to be a good one for the franchise, as the stadium was built on time, even during a pandemic, and will play host to the 2021 Pro Bowl.
Roster excitement heading into 2020
For the Raiders, they have capitalized on five first round picks over the past two NFL Drafts, and have brought in elite talent on both sides of the ball. While fans will have to wait to see the team in person until the 2021 NFL season, that is going to do nothing in terms of lowering the fan bases’ excitement heading into this year.
Derek Carr returns for his seventh season at the helm, and running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller are elite players at their position group. In addition, Mayock went out and spent good money on the defensive side of the ball, revamping a linebacker group that was one of the worst in football last season.
Outside of that, the entire starting offensive line returns in 2020, the wide receiver room has been upgraded, and the team will welcome back star safety Johnathan Abram. There is a lot to like about this 2020 team, now they have to go out and prove they can win.
While this is certainly a sad day, as that place would have been rocking this season, it did not come as much of a shock. This pandemic has reached all ends of the world, decimating economies and taking lives, so for one season, Raider Nation will have to cheer on their team from afar.