While many NFL teams have already canceled season tickets for 2020 and told fans to expect dramatically reduced seating capacity, the Raiders are biding their time in the hopes that they can get as many fans as possible into their new Las Vegas Stadium.
A Raiders official told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that no decisions are being made yet for how many fans can attend games at Allegiant Stadium this season.
The Raiders made the move to Las Vegas because they expect it to be a much more lucrative market than Oakland, and they sold $478 million in personal seating licenses for Allegiant Stadium. Then tickets for the 2020 season sold out quickly, and many of them have already been resold on the secondary market. The Raiders want to avoid having to pay massive refunds.
When the NFL’s owners voted 31-1 to block off the first eight rows at stadiums this season so that fans and players couldn’t spread COVID-19 to each other, Raiders owner Mark Davis cast the lone no vote.
Despite the pandemic, Allegiant Stadium is still planning to go forward with a Garth Brooks concert on August 22 for which 65,000 tickets have been sold. That will be the first event at the new stadium, and the Raiders’ first home game is on September 21. The Raiders are still hoping for plenty of fans at that game.
