Will coronavirus keep Allegiant Stadium empty for Raiders games?

Raiders running back Jalen Richard feels the energy of the fans before he even sets foot on the field for home games.

“I can’t explain it,” the four-year veteran who has spent his entire career with the franchise said this week. “When you come out of that tunnel and the crowd is rocking, you feed off all that energy and excitement from a full stadium. You can build momentum off a home crowd even before the game starts. There is nothing like it. If any player says he doesn’t feel that way, he’s lying.”

It’s the type of atmosphere the team has developed over the years in Oakland and Los Angeles and the one the organization hopes to take to even greater heights at Allegiant Stadium, their new shrine just off the Strip.

But what if, because of coronavirus pandemic, the NFL must proceed for this season, or any part of it, with no fans in attendance?

Nobody wants to see sporting events without fans, but Raiders diehards may have to start acknowledging that they may have to wait yet another year to watch NFL football live in Las Vegas.

MGM Acting CEO Bill Hornbuckle was the latest to suggest the idea when he was asked about the city’s sports landscape during an earnings call on Thursday. “In the long term, Las Vegas will recover,” he said. “But we may see a few games this year without people.”

Hornbuckle called the potential of 15,000 or more people attending a concert, and by extension a sporting event, at T-Mobile Arena where the Golden Knights play this year “a stretch.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis doesn’t really want to ponder such a possibility just yet, at least publicly.

While the thought has to have crossed his mind, it’s difficult to envision the dream he had of building a luxurious capital for Raider Nation finally coming to fruition with none of its citizens there to experience it.

“To be honest, I don’t want to think that far ahead,” he said this week. “There has been a lot of stuff thrown around in the media about (games with no fans), but I know the league hasn’t gotten that far. We haven’t met as owners in quite a while.”

The owners were next scheduled to meet May 19-20 in Marina Del Ray, California, but now are going to meet virtually on those dates.

Davis believes there is nothing like a full house at an NFL game. He said Allegiant Stadium has been built with a capacity crowd screaming at the top of their lungs in mind.

“That’s what I live for,” Davis said. “Sundays. Game days. They’re everything. Kickoff is exciting. The national anthem is exciting. The energy and emotion from the crowd is exciting. It’s the greatest day. It’s also the hardest day because you want to win so badly. That’s always our goal. I just can’t allow myself to think ahead of what it might look like with (empty stadiums). I deal in reality. As we get closer to the season, the possibility of everything will be determined.”

There’s also the question of whether fans are even ready to go if they’re allowed in.

A sampling of a handful of season ticket-holders this week revealed several who are excited about the opportunity to see the Raiders play, but even more skepticism about whether they would feel comfortable attending a game in such a large group.

Only one of the respondents interviewed by the Review-Journal said they would be willing to attend a game with a full crowd in the next month. He did say he would wear a mask, which is not part of his current daily routine.

NFL is prepared

So games this fall without fans are starting to feel like more and more of a possibility as the sports world struggles to cope with a new normal created by the global coronavirus pandemic. Scenarios are discussed, debated and dismissed on an hourly basis. It seems nothing is truly off the table at this point, even though the league insists it is still planning on conducting the season as usual.

“We are planning on playing the 2020 NFL season as scheduled and with fans in the stands across the country and at the world-class Allegiant Stadium,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Review-Journal on Thursday. “We will be prepared to make adjustments if necessary. It is only responsible to prepare for all alternatives and we will be ready.”

The schedule is expected to be released this week with potential contingencies built in. The league has had to make adjustments in the past for everything from hurricanes to wildfires to the terrorist attacks of September. 11, 2001.

League officials are believed to have discussed possibilities ranging from business as usual to half- or one-third filled stadiums to playing games with no fans at all.

“Our protocols and decisions will be guided by the latest advice from medical and public health officials, as well as current and future government regulations,” McCarthy said. “Our primary focus remains protecting the health of our fans, players, club and league personnel, and communities.”

The league has continued to conduct its offseason business with a few adjustments.

Creativity needed

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has emerged as the face of the nation’s coronavirus task force, gave the NFL passing grades for the way it conducted the draft remotely while promoting social distancing.

But he told the New York Times this week that we as a society may have to accept that some sports may not return this season, He added that there are pathways to avoid that. They are mainly centered on a massive uptick in testing and extensive planning by the leagues, particularly in contact sports like football.

“You’ve got to be really creative,” he said. “It may not work. I’m not saying this is the way to go, but you want to at least consider having players, if they’re going to play, play in front of a TV camera without people in the audience. And then test all the players and make sure they’re negative and keep them in a place where they don’t have contact with anybody on the outside who you don’t know whether they’re positive or negative. That’s going to be logistically difficult, but there’s at least the possibility of doing that.”

The NFL has some advantages in that regard, the biggest of which is time.

While the NBA and NHL had to hit pause in the late stages of their regular seasons and baseball was put on hold just before Opening Day, the NFL has until September to work on a plan.

There’s also the financial implications. The NFL draws from a deep pool of revenue and can still make a substantial profit through rights deals and sponsorships while taking a temporary hit on ticket sales and concessions.

Other leagues, and to a larger extent, college football, don’t have quite as much leeway. The profitability of football programs and even entire athletic departments are reliant on putting fans in the stands.

Fan still hopeful

There is, however, hope that the situation will change by September.

Gilberto Carrera is a lifelong Raiders fan from Ontario, California, who spent 17 of his 23 years enlisted in the Air Force stationed in Las Vegas. He moved back to town upon his retirement from active duty in 2017 and couldn’t believe his luck when he learned his favorite team was also relocating to Southern Nevada.

He purchased season tickets for his family of four, but said there is “no chance” he would attend a game if it were to be held in the next few weeks.

“It would hurt,” said Carrera, who appeared in one of the virtual squares of Raiders fans during the first round coverage of the NFL draft. “But I have an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old and if it means keeping them out of harm’s way, then that obviously outweighs what the disappointment would be of not being able to go. Keeping my family healthy is of the utmost importance.”

He said he will continue to monitor the projections and keep an eye on the developments in treatments and a vaccine while keeping the dream of attending the Raiders’ first game at Allegiant Stadium in mind.

“I’m hopeful, but skeptical,” he said. “I’m not bought in yet.”

Play could be better

Richard hopes to see Carrera and about 65,000 of his friends there when the Raiders open the stadium in the fall.

“We have the greatest fans in the world,” he said. “We play for them. I’m pretty sure, even if they aren’t allowed in, Raider Nation would do anything it could to be outside Allegiant Stadium partying it up. I’d miss seeing them, miss all the costumes on game day. Raider Nation is crazy, man. It’s a very unique, diverse fan base. It would really hurt not seeing them inside for games.

“Basically, in terms of atmosphere, it will have the feel of a scrimmage. That’s where the man-on-man battle comes in. You have to beat your man on a given play without being inspired by the crowd. It would be a lot different if that happens.”

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins tried to look at the bright side, saying in a recent conference call it could be a “breath of fresh air” to just play football without all the pomp and circumstance as well as the hostile atmosphere of road games, though he later clarified he would never want to deprive fans the opportunity to attend games.

Richard understands the point.

“From just a game and execution standpoint, I actually think you might see a better level of football,” he said. “Nobody is going to miss getting booed, but I think the focus on both sides would be sharper because there is no noise. If there is no crowd element to play off, it will come down to man-on-man, win the rep, best man wins.

“Communication on both sides will be much better, the offense will know what the defense is doing more and defense with offense. I still need to run my route and catch the ball or make my cut and they still need to bring me down. But with no crowd, the focus on all of that might even be better.”

Adjustments likely

If fans aren’t allowed to attend, it’s still likely the NFL would utilize current stadiums in jurisdictions where it would be permissible, mainly because they are already fitted with all the necessary technologies and conveniences to produce network-quality broadcasts. They also contain the amenities needed for the players.

The league could make adjustments if fans can’t be in the stadium to participate in and add to the game experience. There could be additional camera angles and microphones to enhance the broadcasts. Venues could also pump in music or crowd noise to try to create a more normal atmosphere.

Other changes could be in store, particularly if the Korean Baseball Organization is any indication. The KBO is starting its season with no spectators and hopes to gradually build the number of spectators as the season progresses.

According to Orioles pitcher Tyler Wilson, who plays in the league, players can only enter the stadium and facility through one door and everyone has to get their temperature taken every day.

There will be no pregame media scrums in the dugout. Instead, each manager will do a press conference before the game. All managers, team officials and reporters must wear masks. After the game, just one player or manager from the winning team will be available to reporters, and only after the teams have left the dugout.

The KBO has also banned spitting.

It will look different, but it’s something.

It’s hope.

Davis still has it even though he believes in a measured approach.

“The most important part of this is always going to be health and safety first and foremost,” he said. “The key factor in a comeback will be proper protocol and making sure all the testing is available. It looks like this will be a state-by-state basis for opening up. Each will have its own reasoning for doing so or not. We just have to wait and see.”

The fans stand ready to do their part if they’re allowed in, which Richard wants to see.

“It’s such a big part of getting us going,” he said. “If we play football with no one there, no noise or emotion, that will be very hard.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.