The Las Vegas Raiders Debut Of The New Allegiant Stadium Drew Plenty Of Reaction

The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a win in their first game this season, outlasting the Carolina Panthers by a 34-30 margin in Week 1. However, there was more than a little bit of extra emphasis on the second game of the season for Jon Gruden’s team, simply because it marks the first game in the newly constructed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

In advance of Monday night’s tilt against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, the hype was significant, including a video released by the Raiders to get the blood flowing in the NFL’s maiden voyage in Vegas.

In addition, Monday Night Football has its own mystique, raising the stakes even more.

It was quite a scene even before kick-off, with fans arriving (very) early just a stone’s throw from the Las Vegas Strip.

The facility is overwhelming in its grandeur, with a billion dollar price tag to boot, and many were looking ahead to the festivities even before the public was allowed inside.

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By kick-off time, there was even a flyover, even with the roof closed for the action.

It is still too early to get a full-fledged feel on how the stadium will be received in the long term but, if nothing else, the “death star” moniker to describe the venue seems to be catching on with vigor.

Not everyone is on board, though, with some semantic arguments against the nickname.

There were others who pointed out it had more in common with your robot vacuum than the Death Star.

Overall, Allegiant Stadium looks brilliant and it certainly seems to embody the city where its located. Whether the Raiders can live up to the billing remains to be seen, but Las Vegas now has an NFL team to pair with a highly successful NHL franchise, and they have a venue to host the action.