Report: Raiders considering contingencies if Covid-19 results in new stadium construction delay

The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to open Allegiant Stadium this fall in their first season since relocating out of California. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has raised some questions about a potential delay. Two workers at the construction site have come down with the virus, and while construction continues, there are still concerns.

The Raiders are considering their options, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the primary contingency plan would appear to be shuffling the preseason and regular season schedule to offer some time on the back end of the season to complete the eight-game home schedule.

Prior to departing Oakland, the Raiders “investigated options that included playing games in Salt Lake City, Phoenix and San Diego, and it is realistic to think that all of those options could be resurrected,” according ot the Review Journal. They reported that remains “the most unlikely and would only be triggered in an absolute worst-case scenario.”

The Review-Journal reported the roof of the stadium is set to be completed in two weeks, and the rest of the work to be completed would be indoors. The pandemic is a fluid situation, so we could easily see the situation change. Of course, that fluid situation also raises questions about whether the NFL starts on time and with fans in the stands. If the league did plan an on-time start but with no fans, that could also provide a chance for the Raiders to play games in a stadium that has not been entirely completed.