The Las Vegas Raiders play their season home opener tonight at Allegiant Stadium, and we’re already feeling pretty good after the team won game #1 on the road. So let’s enjoy first place while we can 🥳 and celebrate Allegiant Stadium with a look back on its first five years.
💔 The First Event was Empty
The first-ever event at Allegiant Stadium was a Raiders victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 21, 2020. The game was broadcast on “Monday Night Football,” but no paying fans were allowed inside due to the pandemic.
The stadium was first scheduled to welcome guests for a Garth Brooks concert earlier that year. The show was postponed over COVID concerns and took place July 10, 2021, a week after DJ Illenium was the first music act to play the stadium.
🌱 Astroturf is Avoided at All Costs
The grass for the football field is real — and it sits on a huge irrigated tray that retracts outside the stadium for some much-needed sunlight. It weighs 20 million pounds and takes about 90 minutes to move back inside on game days.
😀 Free Swag Is Available
Allegiant Stadium is the home of UNLV football too. Free posters are given away inside the stadium during every Rebels home game.
🎟️ There’s a Special Backstage Pass
Allegiant Stadium releases tickets on Fridays for behind-the-scenes tours, giving fans a chance to walk on the field, see the locker rooms, and get an up-close look at the Al Davis Memorial Torch. Upgrade to a VIP experience for food, games, and other fun stuff.
🎶 It Represents Beyoncé Bookends
Beyhive historians will always connect Allegiant Stadium to how Beyoncé began and ended her country-themed Cowboy Carter era. It all started with a surprise ad for Verizon, teasing to “drop the new music” during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024 while the game was underway in Vegas. Later, she played the final date of her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour at Allegiant Stadium on July 26, 2024.
By the way … Neither Beyoncé nor the Super Bowl hold the Allegiant Stadium attendance record. That belongs to the college showdown between USC and LSU that drew 63,969 fans on Sept. 1, 2024.
