The problem
There isn’t anything Raider Nation dislikes more than seeing large amounts of the opponent’s fans inside their state-of-the-art stadium. Oakland loyalists smirk at images online showing colors other than Silver and Black covering the seats.
None of this is a surprise though. In fact, it was expected when the team relocated. The NFL wanted to be in Las Vegas not because it solved the Raiders' problems, but rather the monstrous business opportunity of having their product in the entertainment capital of the world.
Football fans have had only three seasons to attend a game at Allegiant Stadium, so the desire to visit hasn’t diminished yet. Even a few years in, Las Vegas is still a new and attractive away game destination for the other 31 fan bases – especially considering many NFL teams haven’t played at Allegiant Stadium, so their fans are still eager for their first road trip to Vegas.
The reason
The Raiders are sold out of season tickets. You need a personal seat license (PSL) to purchase season tickets and they have a wait list for those. However that is now closed to the public, so no one else can join the PSL waitlist at this point.
The Raiders created an online marketplace where you can safely and securely sell or buy PSLs, although at astronomical costs (club level topping off from $200K to $400K per seat). With sports ticketing flooded with fake tickets and scams, this is a smart choice for potential buyers, but also beneficial to the Raiders organization for the sake of policing their PSL sales.
I say all this because the Raiders are really enjoying this high demand. These are numbers they never experienced in Oakland. They don’t care if season tickets are sold to Raiders fans or hotels or ticket brokers who live on the other side of the country – they’re taking advantage while the iron is hot!
Sure, if they had the choice, they’d prefer the stadium be full of Raiders fans, but they certainly aren’t going to complain about being sold out of season tickets right now.
PSL Holders’ return on investment is high because of opposing fans. PSL Holders have a lot of power. They occupy most of Allegiant Stadium. They control the inventory.
When the Raiders start consistently winning, or if Antonio Pierce continues making them a very entertaining team to watch, then and only then will Raiders fans with PSLs resell significantly less and start attending more games. Even if they do continue giving out their tickets (like the hotels and ticket brokers certainly will), then at least out-of-town Raiders fans are more likely to be the ones purchasing resold tickets (as compared to today where it’s opposing fans) if they’re going to see a winning effort and entertaining product.
It’s no secret that in Las Vegas there are a lot of ways to spend your money to enjoy an evening out. Tourists rather catch a show on the strip than have watched the boring uninspired football that Josh McDaniels bred. Who could blame a PSL Holder for taking profits from opposing fans during the McDaniels era?
We know how much Raider Nation loves Antonio Pierce, but the swag and style he manufactures is also very attractive to out-of-towners with no rooting interest simply looking to be entertained. Who wouldn’t want to see those Raiders while being on the strip for a weekend?
In recent years, locals have chosen to spend their money on a winning hockey team instead of a losing football team. This is as much a credit to the NHL team as it is a reflection of the Raiders.
Just over a mile from 3333 Al Davis Way is where the Vegas Golden Knights play. They were Western Conference Champions in their first season (2018), made the playoffs six times in their seven-season existence, and won the Stanley Cup last year (2023). The greater Las Vegas market has supported them from Day 1 – with the noise they bring, their home ice advantage is incredible.
Recently, their 103.5% average attendance per game was the second-highest in the entire NHL during the 2024-25 season, and they also had the highest in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The potential for the local market is high. Demand to watch the NFL in Allegiant Stadium is high.
So again, when the Raiders become a winner, there are two scenarios that’ll play out. One, Raiders fans with PSLs will resell fewer tickets and attend more games. And two, even if they continue dishing out their tickets, then at least it’s more likely other re-energized Raider fans are scooping them up instead of opposing fans like today.
The solution
In both previously mentioned scenarios, there’ll be significantly more Raiders fans attending home games than in previous seasons.
When that happens, the organization might consider limiting PSL Holders to only those who live in Nevada and California. Again, PSL Holders occupy most of the stadium, so the first step in filling the stadium with your fans is to restrict PSL sales to just the two states with the biggest Raider Nation populations.
Secondly, the organization should then enforce a resale policy to all PSL Holders that restricts how often season tickets can be resold. This will ensure the stadium is filled with local fans who want to attend the game and support the home team.
For example, a PSL Holder can only retain their seats for the following season if they personally attend at least 75% of the season.
With the Raiders' partnership with Ticketmaster, they’re able to closely monitor every ticket their PSL Holder resells, and better control their inventory, prices and season ticket base.
When the time is right, implementing these two solutions is a no brainer.
But they don’t have that leverage yet. And until they do, I think the Raiders will continue enjoying the demand regardless of which jerseys consumers are wearing.