Allegiant Stadium, One Year Later: Las Vegas Raiders Find Comfort Zone in First Games With Fans Every week promises stellar acts, high-quality production elements By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Friday, October 22, 2021 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
On Sept. 21, the Las Vegas Raiders celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of Allegiant Stadium. Since that 34-24 win over the New Orleans Saints in front of empty seats, one of the National Football League's two newest venues has roared to life with the return of fans and is beginning to create its own game-day experience in Sin City.
We spent a lot of time making improvements and getting operational feedback to create efficiencies, but, at this point, the resources and employees that Allegiant Stadium has allowed us to bring into this building are some of the best in the country, says Justin Lange, manager, audio, video, broadcast, and Cisco Vision operations, Allegiant Stadium. It has been a fantastic experience so far, and we're only at the tip of the iceberg.
Time for Teaching: Football-Hungry Audience Continues To Learn the Game In summer 2020, the production team was busy developing its creative identity before the start of its inaugural season in Las Vegas. By the time preseason and regular-season games came around, it had been announced that all home games that season were going to be played behind closed doors. This decision left a lot of the game-day-production strategy in question: content was put together for only the eyes of the players and coaches on the field - with social media becoming the main connection between franchise and fans and the control-room staff reduced to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Allegiant Stadium celebrated its one-year anniversary last month.
The delayed opening postponed Las Vegas-based fans' first-hand experience of professional football. They were able to get a taste by watching games on television, but, when they were finally permitted through the turnstiles, there were still finer aspects of the game to experience.
We're still learning our fans, and our fans are still learning football, but it's definitely great when you have their energy to support all that we're doing, says Justin Casserly, director, game and event presentation, Las Vegas Raiders. It was all speculation on what Raider Nation meant until you got a sense of it during our preseason game. Our players have said that they haven't played in a louder building. We're still working on training [fans] when to be loud and how to be loud.
Inside the control room at Allegiant Stadium during Raiders-Bears on Oct. 10
Some of that training is, for example, cheering loudly on defense to disrupt the other team's signal calling and being more subdued on offense to give quarterback Derek Carr the ability to communicate effectively. Up in the control room, the crew helping the fans with this learning curve has grown to a staff of 40. After a tough year directing a lot of the production alone, Casserly has reinforcements.
I was able to get through a full season last year without any team members, he notes. Now I have one full-time manager who I was able to bring over from Miami. There's a lot more traffic that we have to drive through, like partnership elements that require people to be in their position for the live shot to be staged well. I've had to bring in an associate producer to facilitate all the different information that comes through the control room as well as simultaneously teach [our crew] about what the NFL is since many of them have limited experience.
Super Bowl-Level Production: In-Venue Show Promises To Wow Fans Every Week It's hard to not have a good time in Las Vegas, and, in keeping with the city's natural vibe, Casserly and his crew present high-quality and high-energy content every home game. Some professional teams use the term show loosely, but the show at Allegiant Stadium is truly one in every sense of the word, including the use of a two-minute countdown to showtime.
Integrated by Alpha Video, an Evertz EXE 2110 router and IP and HDR workflows give the venue flexibility.
Since the start of the 2021 season, the run of show has featured a star-studded list of performers, as well as small nods to the aura of the Raiders. These nods include introducing each position group to the tune of The Autumn Wind as the players take the field for pregame warmups and the Star Wars Imperial March as they exit to the locker room. Before the game vs. the Chicago Bears on Oct. 10, the Raiders called on magician Criss Angel for a stunt in which he untangled himself from a straitjacket in under 30 seconds while suspended upside down 100 ft. over the field. Not only did he defy the odds, but his presence spotlighted the Raiders' efforts toward fulfilling the league's Crucial Catch initiative: Angel's 7-year-old son is in a fight against leukemia.
As game time nears, the Raiderettes, a coordinated light show, and a flashy intro video featuring many of the city's iconic buildings welcome the team to the gridiron. An activation that debuted last season is the ceremonial lighting of the Al Davis Memorial Torch at the north end of the venue. The gesture pays homage to the team's first owner and has been a tradition since his passing in 2011. The lighting on Oct. 10 was two days after the 10-year anniversary of Davis's death. Honorees who have ignited the torch include former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Las Vegas Labor Union Leader Tommy White, and the late owner's widow, Carol Davis.
While suspended upside down 100 ft. in the air, Criss Angel escaped from a straitjacket before the Raiders' Crucial Catch game.
Last year, we [used the torch to] recognize those who were big members of the
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
Allegiant Stadium, One Year Later: Las Vegas Raiders Find Comfort Zone in First Games With Fans Every week promises stellar acts, high-quality production elements By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor 
