Raider Nation Upset with Number of Opposing Fans
Henderson, Nev.—"This is complete and utter bullsh*t," was how one Raider fan reacted when leaving Allegiant Stadium after the Las Vegas Raiders opening night win over the Baltimore Ravens.
"There is no reason for that many fans of the Ravens to be in our stadium," was how another fan described their frustration.
We wrote about this before the season and talked about it on my radio show on Raider Nation Radio.
Rick Gosselin is the preeminent NFL writer and has lived in Dallas covering the Cowboys for decades. Gosselin said this summer, "I think one thing no one is talking about is that Las Vegas is the premiere destination city in America, if not the world."
The legendary writer added, "When they first opened Jerry's World (AT& T Stadium) they saw that the Cowboys had to deal with the crowds of fans. In Las Vegas, you have a city built for tourism. Every fan in the NFL that wants to travel to one of their team's road games is going to circle Vegas." Gosselin nailed it.
Allegiant Stadium has had massive crowds for the opposing team most games this year, and I have come to believe that the best the Raiders can hope for is a 60-40 split, at best.
But why is that? Why is a fan base known as the most diehard in the National Football League selling their seats?
I had to travel and speak and talk to people to answer that. I interviewed 193 people for this article. Not all are quoted, but all are included in the statistics, and all are kept confidential to protect their identity.
The Casinos
One fact is that the Las Vegas casinos own a significant number of tickets. One professional man who came to Las Vegas for the Bears game told me this: "It was fantastic, and I bought eight magnificent seats. People asked me who sold me their seats, and I told them the casino. I got a package, shows, gambling, and had a blast. Show up Friday night and got home on Monday afternoon. A perfect four-day weekend."
That is one reality of the Raiders' move. While the old Oakland Stadium had plenty of seating, Oakland is not a city that draws tourists like Vegas.
One school teacher from Texas told me: "Hey, not a Cowboys fan, I love the Eagles. Got a great deal on air fare, great package from the Casino and it was great. My wife would have never went to Oakland or any other city outside of New York for a game, but another couple went with us and it was a great weekend."
That is a significant reality about why so many seats are sold to opposing fans and why some are empty.
An employee from one area casino who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to do so said: "I get why people are pissed off. They see great seats empty, but we have those for a reason. We are Raiders fans in that we want them to win, we live here and they are in our city, but we aren't Raiders fans with our tickets. We as individuals are fans, but the casino sees the tickets as dollars. We don’t care who plays at our tables, sleeps in our rooms, or uses our tickets, as long as they are here."
The casino employee went on to add: "Those are an investment. We have to have seats if someone calls at the last minute. This isn't about being a fan, it is about business. If someone asks to go twenty-minutes before kickoff, or even after, we have to have those seats. Better to be empty, than not available when called on. Again, it is about business."
That term, "It is about business," resonates throughout the Raider Nation.
The Fans
Bob and Sandy, (not their real names), are professionals from California, and they are two professionals who have been season ticket holders for years.
Bob said: "We would never have sold our seats in Oakland. We gave them away all the time and only to Raiders fans. Mark Davis made a business decision, and I respect that; I am a businessman."
Sandy added: "We made the choice to get tickets in Las Vegas, and damn good ones. But we talked and we made it a business decisions. We sold all of our tickets to the home games versus the Bears, Chiefs, and Rolling Stones for nearly $100,000. It was a business decision to pay back our estate for the PSL's, and to pay for this year."
Bob added: "In Oakland were are a family, in Las Vegas we are a… (Long pause) family business."
Another California resident told me: "I sold my tickets quick to two games. Only two games, and it paid for my year. Hell yes I did it, hell yes before the move to Vegas I would have never done it, and hell yes I will do it again. Business is business. The people bitching aren't paying for these seats, I am."
The Vaccine Mandate
Frank and Rita (not their real names) live outside of Nevada, and they have had season tickets for many years. Rita had cancer, and after her treatment, she was advised that she and her husband had the COVID-19 antibodies, and with her condition, it would be best NOT to get vaccinated.
Franks says: "When they put the vaccine mandate in, we were screwed. We are not these wack job anti vaxxers, our Doctor advised us not to. We reached out to the Raiders and were told that Mark (Davis) had made his decision and there was no compromise."
Rita added: "It turned out to be a blessing. We sold all of our seats, before the season, and the concerts and we have now repaid out entire PSL investment."
Frank interrupts to add: "We would have just never done that in Oakland. They tried to let Mark refund our money, but we thought and said, 'He won't give a damn who buys them, so why should we?'"
That sentiment is a genuine reason why so many seats are open and or filled with opposing fans.
Scott and Tonya live in Vegas, (not their real names). They, too, sold their tickets because of the vaccine mandate, but for other reasons. "We are fans, but we bought the tickets to take customers. We are both vaccinated, but many of our customers who own businesses aren't for whatever reason. We don't want those seats because we are the people that put on the makeup and Halloween costumes; those seats are for business. Once word got out that they were for sale, they were gone. We will use our seats for two games, but the others are all sold, and we not only paid for our tickets, but we made a big chunk of our PSL cost back."
The Raiders
The Raiders on-field performance has hurt the team as well.
Kimberly and Ron (not their real names) have been long-time fans of the Raiders and long-time season ticket holders.
Their first date was at a Raiders game.
Ron said: "I wouldn't have ever thought of selling my tickets. It is so important to us, and it is a family. But since they moved to Vegas, the tailgating isn't what it used to be and for years we heard we couldn't compete because we didn't have the money from the boxes and fancy seats. Once this team started to nose dive and Jon quit, we just ran out of gas."
Kimberly said: "We love the team, but in Las Vegas, I don't think they love us. It is corporate, so when people offered to buy or tickets, Ron was like, 'We can save the money babe, make some back and not have the stress.' It was easy to do once we weighed the pros and the cons."
The Stats
Seventy-seven percent of the people interviewed who have sold one or more of their Las Vegas Raiders season tickets this year told us they did it for business reasons.
Thirty-eight percent said it had to do with the vaccine mandate.
Twenty-four percent said selling their seats was based on the team's play.
Obviously, those numbers add up to more than 100 percent, demonstrating many people had multiples of reasons for selling.
No matter what the reason is for opposing team's fans invading Allegiant Stadium, it is happening.
America is more mobile now, people can fly across the country with ease, and people have moved to every corner from every corner.
Football is no longer a kid's game; it is a business decision for people to commit to season tickets. The world is different with COVID-19, and it has an impact far more expansive than just health. All of those reasons have added up to a reality that Raider Nation may not like, but it still is real.
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