The Las Vegas Raiders opened up their new home, Allegiant Stadium, to their players on Friday as they held their first scrimmage there now that construction is complete.
The Raiders and city of Las Vegas pulled out all the stops in building Allegiant Stadium, making it one of the nicest new venues in the world. Raiders players were in awe when they saw it for the first time Friday, which is no surprise considering the pictures and videos that had already been released.
Given the stadium’s all-black color on the outside, many people have started calling it the ‘Death Star.’ After Friday’s scrimmage, Raiders owner Mark Davis got on the microphone and gave a speech to his team, confirming that will be the official nickname of the stadium, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN:
“Welcome to the Death Star, where our opponents’ dreams come to die,” Davis said.
“This is our field of dreams. This is our house. The stadium’s personality will be defined by you, so take pride every time you step on this field wearing those famed black jerseys and silver helmets. You are the Raiders. There will be many personal accomplishments out here on this field. Someone on this field today will make the first tackle; somebody will score the first touchdown, and somebody will make the first interception. But most importantly, it is what we do as a team. So, I will leave you with three words — Just win, baby. Welcome home.”
There still will be a section within the stadium called the Black Hole, so that nickname will live on as well.
It’s easy to see why morale is so high within the organization right now due to the improved roster and new stadium. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden gave his first impressions of the place he will be coaching at for the long-term future:
“This place is a one-of-a-kind joint,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said with a laugh. “We’ve 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 bright lights, the natural grass in a domed stadium, the spectacular locker room, it’s a state-of-the-art facility. It’s got everything you can imagine, and I can’t wait to share it with our fans. … It’s a lot different than Alameda. No disrespect to the old stadium, but it’s a lot different.”
Now that the Raiders’ facilities are up to standard, it will be up to the coaches and players to get things turned around in 2020 and get this historic franchise back to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
