Raiders rooting for state to OK UNLV’s plan for fewer fans at games

The Raiders are cheering for the state to approve UNLV’s plan to have limited fan attendance at Mountain West home games at Allegiant Stadium this season.

With newly announced COVID-19 measures going into place Thursday, fixed-seat venues of over 2,500 seats can have up to 10 percent capacity. That means 6,500 fans can be in attendance for events at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium.

Shortly after Gov. Steve Sisolak announced the new attendance cap Tuesday, UNLV issued a statement that it had a plan it was submitting to the state for review.

“We appreciate Gov. Sisolak and his staff’s work on this new directive,” UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said in a statement. “The health and safety of everyone involved — whether on the field or in the stands — is our primary concern… we will submit our plans to the Southern Nevada Health District and then to the state’s Department of Business and Industry for approval.”

Plans must include social distancing, including barriers, markers and signage, attendee check-in plans, including using multiple entrances, collecting contact info for all attendees for contact tracing purposes and disinfectant protocols. Fans must also be split into sections in a venue at no more than 250 fans per section.

4 home games

UNLV has four home games on its eight-game Mountain West slate, with the Rebels scheduled to kick off their tenure at Allegiant Stadium against UNR on Oct. 31 — Nevada day.

Raiders owner Mark Davis said he hopes UNLV’s plan is approved, as it would let the community into the stadium they’ve seen rise up from the ground over the last three years and give workers a trial run for when full attendance in allowed.

“It will give a chance to get some of the concessions stands running and start learning the processes on a smaller scale,” Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We haven’t had a lot of time for in-person training.”

Davis is still holding true to his initial commitment that it’s either all fans or no fans can attend Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium for the 2020 season.

The no-fans choice includes Davis, as he said he would not attend any Raiders’ home games this season.

“We played the first game here on Monday Night (Football) and unfortunately under the circumstances there were no fans allowed to be here,” Davis said, standing just outside the north end of the stadium. “I took the approach that if no fans could be here, I wouldn’t be either. So I still haven’t gotten to see a game inside the stadium.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.