When the Oakland Raiders eventually move to Las Vegas, the expectation is a wrecked fan base, and larger crowds at games just to support the opponent. The Raiders got a taste of that unfortunate future at Sunday’s game hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Oakland Coliseum.
According to a Facebook post by Larry Leon, and many Instagram entries, the notoriously well-traveled ethnicity of person called The Steelers Fan was out in force all over the Oakland Coliseum.
Sadly, for Steelers fans, they lost the contest 24 to 21, as the Raiders escaped due to a missed field goal that would have tied the contest at 24.
Noting all of the Steelers fans, Leon wrote:
FOR ALL YOU STEELER FANS WHO TOOK OVER HALF OUR STADIUM TODAY..ALL GOOD..BUT THAT PLANE RIDE BACK IS A …B___ ..RAIDERS DID THERE THING…RAIDER UP
Why Oakland Raiders Fans Didn’t Show In Large Numbers For The Steelers Game
Why didn’t Oakland Raiders Fans come to the Coliseum in great numbers for The Steelers Game? Well, first, it’s important to really understand that from the perspective of the club seat and luxury suite owners, the attendance was just fine. But, overall, the massive number of tickets pre-purchased by ticket brokers were bought by Steelers Fans, and a number of people who were Raiders Season Ticket holders just plain dumped them.
There’s no official count of how many people did that, so we have to go with the number of people who say they aren’t season ticket holders any more in Oakland. That number could be as high as 5,000 people. We also have to consider those fans who may have been impacted by the Santa Clara Fire and The Camp Fire, as well. Then, we have to take in those fans who just aren’t motivated to come out to see the team because of the poor record and the relocation to Las Vegas.
At present, the Raiders average attendance is 54,096, which is ranked 30th in the NFL. But if you use that statistic, it’s a trap, because the top capacity for Raiders games at the Coliseum is capped at just north of 56,000. So, all things considered, Las Vegas Relocation included, fans have come out to see the team play.
Will that translate to Las Vegas? This blogger thinks the excitement over the new stadium will be the main driver for crowds for the first three years of life of Las Vegas Stadium. After that, we’ll get a better picture of how Raiders Fans respond to the team in Las Vegas. Now, if the team’s a winner on the field, the combination of a more competitive team and the new facility will pay dividends.
But the fact is, the city is Las Vegas, and a lot of residents come from other parts of America and the city’s a major tourist draw. That’s going to make a Raiders vs. Chiefs game a fan fest for Chiefs Kingdom in Sin City.
Stay tuned.