Raiders announce that they will not allow fans at Allegiant Stadium in 2020

The Las Vegas Raiders have announced that they will not allow fans at Allegiant Stadium in 2020.

The Las Vegas Raiders are set to kick off a new era in Allegiant Stadium in 2020 as the newly-located franchise will play their first season outside of the state of California and their first outside of Oakland since 1994.

However, they won’t be doing so the way that they would have hoped.

The Raiders announced on Monday in a letter sent out to season ticket holders that they would not be allowing fans at home games this season.

This comes as a response to growing concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Other teams such as the New York Jets and New York Giants have announced that they would be doing the same.

The Raiders now join the list of growing teams making the decision to roll without fans in 2020.

Raiders’ owner Marc Davis sent out a letter to season ticket holders on Monday.

Below is part of the letter that team owner Marc Davis sent out earlier on Monday.

"“There is nothing more important to the Raider Organization than the health and safety of our players, coaches, staff, stadium workers and fans. 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.”"

At the time of writing, the NFL has not made any official announce mandating teams to now allow fans in stadiums this season. Essentially, this was a decision made by the team without the NFL’s input.

Nonetheless, it’s very likely we see more teams following their lead over the coming weeks.

The Raiders were hoping to open their first season in Las Vegas with their brand new Allegiant Stadium. The hope was that the dazzling new stadium would be packed with fans watching a new era of Raiders football.

But now their first season in Sin City will feel a little hollow.

The Raiders still have expectations for the 2020 season. Those expectations include a hopeful return to the postseason helped out by some notable offseason additions.

Unfortunately, a competitive AFC West could make that plan difficult.

The team will make their Las Vegas debut in Allegiant Stadium in 2020, but they’ll have to wait until at least 2021 before they play in front of fans.