The Las Vegas Raiders will require all attendees at home games to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry to Allegiant Stadium. Fully vaccinated fans can remove their mask upon entry. Partially vaccinated fans will have to wear a face-covering until they receive both doses.
The Raiders plan to offer vaccines on-site at Allegiant Stadium before home games. This will allow unvaccinated fans to receive an inoculation which will allow them access to enter the stadium.
The Raiders will use the CLEAR free mobile app and Health Pass feature. This policy will be in place for the Raiders’ first home game of the season on Sept. 13 against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.
How new Raiders policy will affect ticket holders
The Raiders’ announcement came shortly after Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak released details that certain large venues could allow guests to remove their masks if they show proof of vaccination.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, season-ticket holders who do not want to get a vaccine will have two options for their tickets:
- Fans can “roll over this year’s season-ticket costs to next year.”
- Fans can “get a full refund for this year but still retain their season tickets in the future.”
The Raiders will release more details for season-ticket holders soon.
Raiders dealing with health and safety all year
Requiring fans to get a vaccine to watch games in person may sound a bit drastic. However, it’s in line with how the Raiders and their partners at Allegiant Stadium have been dealing with the virus.
In fact, fans won’t be the only people who have been vaccinated at Raiders games this year. The majority of Raiders players have received a vaccine. In addition, most — if not all — staff working at Raiders games will already have received a vaccine for COVID-19. (Of note, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson remains noncommittal about receiving the vaccine, which did not escape legendary analyst Brent Musburger.)
The Raiders have taken steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 throughout the organization this year. In May, the Raiders announced a policy that required all full-time employees on the business and football staff to be vaccinated.
Two of Allegiant Stadium’s operation partners require COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff. ASM Global Management, the company that manages Allegiant Stadium and Levey Restaurants concession operations, requires vaccinations for all full-time staff at Allegiant Stadium.
In this announcement, Raiders owner Mark Davis said that “health and safety have always been our number one priority.”
“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.”
New policy for more than just Raiders games
The COVID-19 vaccination Raiders announcement happened a couple of hours after Sisolak introduced a new mask policy. This plan is for large venues with fixed seating and a 4,000-person capacity. These venues must require tickets or registration for entry. The reasoning for the ticketing requirement is so the venue can have control preventing unticketed people from attending the event.
Venues can continue to require that vaccinated and unvaccinated guests wear a face-covering after entry. The new policy will allow large venues like Allegiant Stadium to allow fully vaccinated guests to ditch the mask if they have proof of vaccination.
A venue can allow partially vaccinated individuals entry but they must wear a mask. Children too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccine may attend events at these venues. They will also need to wear a mask.
This new policy is not a mandate for all large venues. Venues have the option to use this policy or not. T-Mobile Arena has not announced if the Vegas Golden Knights will have a similar policy when the puck drops on the season in October.
