Category: Stadium Issues

The Raiders have overlooked many lifelong fans and sold the best Club Seats to Las Vegas residents in the hope of filling the stadium from day one.

Fans who had registered with the Vegas Raiders for seats at the new stadium got a bit of a shock on Monday.  Despite having paid a deposit, the first email communication most received was a short message informing them that “Club seats are no longer available” and that they’ll receive “additional communication” further down the line.

Now, for anyone hoping to get a Club Seat this is not only annoying but is further irritating in that it is the first any of us have heard anything from the sales function – so previous communication would have been preferred over additional.

Vegas-Raiders.net enquired how come no seats were available.  Had the “club Seats” been pulled as an idea?

No, came the answer, they’ve all been sold.

How could all the club seats be sold?

So how could that have happened when we, and many of you, were probably amongst the first to pay the deposit.  How could they all be sold without us even hearing that they were available to buy.

The Raiders organisation replied, “The current Oakland Season ticket members who placed a deposit had first opportunity to select seats then the local Las Vegas community who placed a deposit after that.”

Now vegas-raiders.net totally gets that faithful Oakland fans should get first dibs.  But Vegas residents?

Why should Vegas Residents get preferential treatment?

Surely most Vegas residents are not and have not been lifelong Raiders fans, like those of us at Vegas-Reaiders.net and many of you reading this. And why do they get preferential treatment when they need to show virtually no commitment to the team other than falling out of their back doors?

Current Raiders fans overlooked, again

Our ‘sales consultant’ replied again, “The Raiders Organization decided they wanted to build a fan base up in the city that they are moving to, here in Las Vegas. We did not want to have the case where the first game starts and 75% of the stadium is either not there or not raiders fans because people outside of Vegas purchased the seats.”

So, some casino valet who has probably never attended an NFL game in their life is being given first choice in the hope they’ll become a Raiders fan and not sell on their ticket to weekend visitors (Ha Ha, good luck with that one).

And Raiders Management are saying to hell with those, like us, who are prepared to travel 10,000 miles from Europe to watch our team and who have been fans for over 40 years.

Not impressed.

Cost of Club Seating

If they’d been available, this is what you’d have paid for one of the Club Seats on the lower deck.

The section on the 50-yard line came in at a handy $75000 per seat, plus the cost of the season ticket, of course. In the sections either side of the 50, it would have cost $35000.

The next couple of sections, which cover the 35 to the 10-yard line was $20000 plus $3500 per season for the tickets.

It’s clear the Las Vegas Raiders want to make one of the most iconic stadiums in the NFL, but also ensure all the fans are happy at the same time. The best way to do this is through a fan survey, and those signed up with the organisation probably answered a survey earlier in the year regarding Personal Seat Licenses (PSL), recently receiving a second one that goes into more specific detail about the options on offer.

By depositing $100, you could put yourself down to be on the shortlist for a PSL, choosing from one of three tiers. A PSL is a one-time fee that gives you the chance to purchase a season ticket for a particular seat in that stadium for as long as the franchise are there. This includes the right to sell those season tickets or single game tickets, along with getting access to other events held there, such as the Super Bowl. The downside is the PSL owner must purchase a season ticket every year, otherwise they will forfeit their license and any money previously paid. That shouldn’t be an issue, however, considering most teams sell out their season tickets each year and have fans waiting for them.

Proceeds from PSL’s are used to help with stadium costs and construction. A previous survey by the Raiders was used to gauge the interest of these licenses, and it would seem an overwhelming vote was in favour of them so it’s likely they go ahead. 14 other NFL franchises have used the sale of PSL’s to help fund their new stadiums, including the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Atlanta that was opened this year. The PSLs for the Falcons’ new stadium ranged from $500-$2000 in the upper level seating to $10,000-$45,000 for the Club seats on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd levels.

Looking at other stadiums, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Raiders follow suit around these prices. The top-tier club seats have the highest range of value, potentially coming in anywhere between $5,000 – like those for the Jets – and the $100,000 the Cowboys had on theirs. Vegas is a primetime slot for big spenders, and with a high demand for tickets likely, we could see the top-level tier reach six figures like those at AT&T Stadium.

Now you may be wondering what that kind of money would get you, so here is what the top-level seating tier would likely offer:

• Seats on the lower-level between the 40-yard lines
• Wider, padded seats with extra legroom
• Access to exclusive club lounges at field and top levels, with private restrooms
• All-inclusive food and beverage packages, including alcohol
• Right to purchase tickets for third party events, such as the Super Bowl
• Parking pass and a private stadium entrance
• A VIP experience for training camp
• Tickets to all 10 Raiders home games (regular season and pre-season), and the right to purchase playoff tickets

That all sounds very appealing for anyone interested in football, especially Raiders fans. To pay for the PSL, fans are likely to be offered three choices; a one-time payment, payment over three years, and payment over 5 years. The one-time payment would see a 6% discount, whilst those over multiple years have interest included.

Construction on the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium has official begun after a groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday November 14^th. The event was full of past and present members of the Raiders organisation, along with other NFL owners and commissioner Roger Goodell. The event took place with the lit-up Las Vegas strip providing a night-time backdrop, showing how incredible the view from the stadium will be.

To officially break the ground, owner Mark Davis was joined by Goodell and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. The trio used spades and Raiders-branded hard hats to officially shovel the first scoops of dirt at the site, just off interstate 15. Sadly, all three won’t be around to help with the remainder of the construction of the $1.9billion, 65,000-seat stadium that is due to open in 2020, as much as we might want to see them get their hands dirty.

Among the other guests for the ceremony were Patriots owner Robert Kraft – who publicly backed the move from the beginning – along with Stan Kroenke and Dean Spanos, owners of the Rams and Chargers, who have both just undergone their own relocations to Los Angeles. Former players were also in attendance, including hall of fame defensive end Howie Long of both the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders.

Current Raiders players were hard to find at the event, after the team has just comes off its bye week before heading to Mexico to play the Patriots. This is the second time the NFL is heading to Mexico, after the Raiders – hosting both times – won last year’s match-up 27-20 against the Houston Texans. This year’s team find themselves in a drastically different situation to last year, sitting at 4-5 and on the outside of the playoffs looking in past the seasons halfway stage.

It’s no surprise the Patriots (7-2) are favoured over the Raiders, with Vegas sportsbooks having the Patriots at 1/3 winners and the Raiders at 5/2. To cover the spread, the Raiders will need to win by over 6.5 points and the total game points must be over 53.5. Both teams have had exceptionally shaky defences this year, so it would be no surprise to see this game turn into a shootout.

The Las Veags Stadium authority has unanimously approved the conditional lease agreement from the Raiders. The move comes as no surprise, but it avoids any potential delays in the teams relocation efforts. The LA Rams and Chargers recently were dealt the news that record rain fall has delayed their stadium being ready by an extra year, so its nice to see some positive relocation news for a few weeks.

Had the lease not passed this week, the next opportunity would not have been until October. Team president Marc Badain previously warned that had it not passed at this opportunity then the Raiders too may have been looking at an extra year delay on their relocation.

The lease means the 2020 opening is still the plan, with the stadium still looking good for a 62-acre plot just west of the Mandalay Bay Resort at the south end of Vegas. If you want to see more about the stadium location, then visit our dedicated page here.

The news and vote may have gone under the radar to most Raiders fans, but its just good to know its out the way. The lease agreement will be presented to league owners later on this year, and then we are hopefully looking at smooth sailing from here on out!