The Las Vegas Raiders practiced for the first time at their new state-of-the-art stadium. Silver and Black players and coaches alike were ecstatic.
Allegiant is ready for business
After playing in Oakland for 25 years, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas this past offseason. Although there won’t be any fans in their inaugural season, the Silver and Black are ready to inaugurate Allegiant Stadium. On Friday, 21st, they practiced for the first time in the venue. Let’s just say early reviews are positive.
In their latest press conferences, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, center Rodney Hudson, and running back Jalen Richard weighed in the brand new facility.
Hudson was straight to the point. He likes the new stadium and looks forward to playing there. Also, he says fans will surely like it a lot.
It’s a nice place, it’s pretty impressive. It’s a good deal, it’s a nice stadium. I’m sure whenever the fans are allowed someday they’ll enjoy it and we’re going to enjoy playing in it.
Richard was more descriptive when it came to talking about his first impression. The running back really likes how Allegiant the stadium looks. Especially, he raved about both the black, outside look and the high-end interiors of it.
Really, the stadium itself, how it looks. I haven’t seen a stadium that looks like this ever. It’s blacked-out, it looks like a nice limousine or blacked-out H2 Hummer. It just looks real nice and big, aggressive, and then you get inside and it’s just beautiful.
It’s not just the outside of the stadium that is mesmerizing. According to Richard, the inside is as incredible as the outside.
From the glass, I kind of walked around before practice today and saw the little party area, the drinks, the walkaround to the club areas and stuff. It wasn’t a piece unturned, like everything was nice and finished well, so I’m excited.
Raiders HC Jon Gruden is grateful and excited
Gruden echoed Hudson’s sentiment and hopes fans and everyone can attest how majestic Allegiant is. Likewise, he’s grateful for the work Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Marc Badain did in order to make it possible.
I said it was very exciting being in that stadium. We’re really appreciative of what Mark Davis, Marc Badain, and these guys went through to put us in a place like this. I just can’t wait to share with the city of Vegas, sports fans, entertainment fans from around the world.
Gruden also emphasized the fact we’re in the middle of a pandemic and that we need to crush the virus. He hopes we do enough to combat it so everyone can enjoy the experience the way the Raiders did.
This place is a one-of-a-kind joint, we just got to keep pounding this virus into the turf and open these doors so people can enjoy it like we did today. It’s a spectacular out-of-sight place.
The Raiders first home game of the 2020 season will be against the Saints in Week 2. Furthermore, it will be a Monday Night Football matchup. There won’t be a better way to inaugurate it than beating New Orleans in the national spotlight.
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Top Photo Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal