Las Vegas Raiders have raised more than $500m through the sale of personal seat licences (PSL) ahead of their debut season in Nevada.
The franchise, which is switching from Oakland, California for the 2020 campaign, has brought in an astonishing $549.2m through the sale of the licences according to a report from Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Mick Akers. Prices ranged from as little as $500 to $75,000.
The Raiders announced in January that PSLs had already sold out for the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium. A PSL gives the person who purchases a seat in the stadium exclusive rights to buy Raiders season tickets.
The revenue figure illustrates the draw of the new Las Vegas team, with the Raiders also comfortably the most in-demand resale ticket on SeatGeek at an average of $622 per match – almost $200 ahead of second-placed Seattle Seahawks.
PSL sales for Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium brought in $549.2 million, according to the April project status report. PSLs ranged in price from $500-$75,000. #vegas #raiders #stadium pic.twitter.com/Ugl7iUg15K
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) May 21, 2020
The PSL revenue figure also dwarfs the performance of the Raiders’ former California rivals, the Rams and Chargers. They each projected to make around $400m from PSL sales ahead of their switch to the SoFi Stadium later this year, but neither are close; the Chargers are widely reported to have raised only around $100m.
Speaking after the Raiders’ PSLs sold out in January, team president Marc Badain said: “I’m not aware of any stadium that’s sold out eight months before it opened.
“There was a lot of doubt that this market could support any sports team. We’ve obviously in this market shown an exorbitant amount of support and we’re another example of that.”
About 60 per cent of PSL sales came from buyers in Nevada, with 40 per cent from outside.
The Raiders will host their official game in Las Vegas against Arizona Cardinals in late August. The first NFL game at the $1.8bn Allegiant Stadium will take place against New Orleans Saints on September 21.
Looking ahead to the 2020 season and the likelihood games will be played behind closed doors, the NFL’s official policy is that if a game is cancelled or is played without people in the stands, “automatic refunds for the full amount of the voided tickets will be provided by the NFL’s licensed primary channels and most secondary channels within 30 days of the decision.”
The Raiders have extended the deadline for the final two payments for season tickets from April to July 3.
Image: Allegiant Stadium (Facebook)
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