Las Vegas Raiders won’t allow fans in new stadium for all of 2020 season

The brand new Allegiant Stadium will be empty for its inaugural season.

The Raiders had their eyes set on their move to Las Vegas for years. That’s why they hired head coach Jon Gruden in hopes of bringing a winning team to their new home in Nevada. However, those plans have changed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, the Raiders announced that no fans will be permitted inside Allegiant Stadium for the entirety of the 2020 NFL season.

“There is nothing more important to the Raider Organization than the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, stadium workers and fans,” the club said in the statement, via NFL.com. “After intensive consultation with healthcare officials and state and community leaders, we have made the difficult decision to play the Las Vegas Raiders 2020 inaugural season at Allegiant Stadium without fans in attendance. This decision is based on our commitment to protect the health of our fans and the entire community in response to the coronavirus pandemic affecting us all.

“This decision also ensures fairness to you, our PSL holders, given the challenges and potential inequities associated with determining who can and cannot attend specific games if the stadium were to operate at a reduced capacity. While the current situation is not how any of us envisioned celebrating the opening of Allegiant Stadium when circumstances permit we look forward to sharing an unparalleled game day experience in the magnificent stadium you helped build.”

Not the way the Raiders thought they’d open their new home

This is the sobering reality that NFL team owners should expect this season. With new cases of COVID-19 spiking across the nation, having a fraction of fans in attendance just doesn’t seem ideal as of this writing.

The Raiders have their first game inside Allegiant Stadium in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, but there won’t be the raucous crowd that owner Mark Davis was expecting. In fact, Davis himself said that he won’t attend any games this season if there were no fans in the stadium. Let’s see if he follow through on that promise.

Additionally, the Raiders are expected to postpone their opening ceremony for Allegiant Stadium until next year, when hopefully an effective vaccine for COVID-19 is readily available for all and Americans can return to their normal, everyday lives.

If there’s solace in one thing, it’s that Raiders fans can at least watch them play from the comfort of their homes as long as the NFL can do a better job of handling the coronavirus pandemic than MLB.