Raiders blown away by ambiance of Allegiant Stadium
Like any other wide-eyed NFL rookie taking a look at his new workspace, Raiders running back Jalen Richard was impressed upon setting foot in Oakland Coliseum four years ago.
But he got a rude awakening when friends playing at other venues around the league shared their thoughts on the aging stadium.
“I had guys from other teams come in and be like, ‘This is kind of like mediocre a little bit,’” Richard recalls.
Those days of having to apologize for his home stadium are over for Richards and the other Raiders, thanks to Allegiant Stadium, the nearly $2 billion state-of-the-art home they’re set to christen against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 21.
“I haven’t seen a stadium that looks like this ever,” Richard said after getting his first look during training camp. “It’s blacked out, looks like a nice limousine or a blacked-out H2 Hummer. It just looks real nice and big and aggressive.”
When the team practiced in the stadium for the first time, Richard said, he took time to take it all in.
“I walked around before the practice and saw the little party area … the club areas and stuff. There wasn’t a piece unturned. Everything was nice and finished well. I’m excited.”
It’s a feeling shared by the other Raiders players and coaching staff.
“It’s got everything you could imagine, and I can’t wait to share it with our fans,” coach Jon Gruden said. “People around the world, entertainers are going to be here, and it’s going to be the hot spot if you ask me. It’s the coolest place I’ve seen.”
Said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, “I can’t wait to take the first snaps there and play in a stadium like that.”
For Carr, the new home is much more than a place to play football. It signals a level of commitment from Raiders owner Mark Davis and Nevada leaders that he and his teammates plan to honor by doing everything they can to field an exciting team worthy of that kind of financial investment.
“To see what our owner and this city have done and put together, how do we not go and win?” Carr said. “We have to. They’re doing everything they can for us. They’re thinking of every detail from the second you pull into the parking lot until you go home. Every little detail was thorough. It lets you know the only thing in our owner’s mind and the city’s mind is winning.”
While COVID-19 means fans won’t be involved during the 2020 season, Richard can’t wait for the day when they can be a part of the game-day experience.
“It’s so big and massive,” Richard said. “So definitely when this is filled, it’s going to rock.”
Richard said the sight lines at Allegiant Stadium remind him of US Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings. Richard said it feels like fans “are right on top of you” there. He expects it will feel that same way at Allegiant.
In the meantime, Richard said, “it’s going to definitely be weird having this big, nice stadium and have it not be full of fans.”
But what the game-day atmosphere in the stadium will be when fans are allowed to return, Richard and the Raiders can’t wait to see.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.