The Las Vegas Raiders announced Monday that fans who want to attend games at Allegiant Stadium must show proof of Covid-19 vaccination, and then will be able to attend without wearing masks, beginning with the team’s first regular season home game on Sept. 13. Fans who haven’t gotten the vaccine will be able to get shots before home games, and then attend while wearing a mask, according to the Raiders.
Fans who show proof of vaccination will be able to attend games maskless, protocols that the Raiders said are aligned with a new emergency directive from Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak regarding large events.
“Health and safety has always been our number one priority,” said Raiders owner Mark Davis in a prepared statement. “After consultation with Governor Sisolak and other community leaders, this policy ensures that we will be able to operate at full capacity without masks for fully vaccinated fans for the entire season.”
The Raiders are the second NFL team to require Covid-19 vaccination proof to attend games, following a similar decision by the New Orleans Saints last week. While the Saints decision was based on a rule from the New Orleans mayor, the Raiders are in sync with Nevada’s governor, who will allow large venues to bypass indoor-masking rules if they check attendees for vaccination proof. UPDATE, Sept. 7: Add the Seattle Seahawks to the list alongside the Raiders and the Saints.
While Stadium Tech Report saw generally good fan compliance with mask-wearing at Saturday’s game, the idea of having to police fans in large venues to wear masks is a somewhat impossible task. According to a story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, spotty compliance with the masking rule at events like last Saturday’s Raiders preseason game at Allegiant Stadium — and the tough prospect of trying to enforce mask compliance in a 65,000-seat venue — prompted the new directive.
“That’s (consistency) one thing we’re looking for more than anything with the pandemic,” Davis told the Review-Journal. “We did the same thing last year. To get consistency, we didn’t let anybody go. I’m grateful for the governor giving us an option to continue with masks or nip it in the bud right now and go maskless and no attendance limits throughout the season. There was no real choice; this was the right way to go.”
According to the Raiders the team will use biometric security firm Clear’s free mobile app and Health Pass feature to verify vaccine compliance.
Proof of vaccination seems to be a quickly growing trend for large events, as the mammoth CES trade show also announced Tuesday that attendees for the 2022 event would be required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to attend. And on Wednesday, the NAB show announced a similar plan.
Update: Add Live Nation to the mix, as the promoter will require vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test for fans to attend events.
Update 2: Add LSU to the list, as the first SEC school to require vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test for fans to attend events.
Update 3: We learned that last weekend, Oregon and Oregon State will require vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test for fans to attend events.
