Silver Minings: Mark Davis attends home game in Las Vegas for first time

Last year, in an unique show of unity with his team’s fans, Las Vegas Raiders’ owner Mark Davis did not attend any of the team’s eight home games in their first season at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Fans were not allowed into the beautiful, new building because of the coronavirus pandemic last season and Davis stayed away to show support to the fans. It was an incredible gesture.

Saturday, though, Davis and fans flocked to Allegiant Stadium to mark the first game the Raiders have played at Allegiant Stadium in front of fans when Las Vegas beat the Seattle Seahawks 20-7 in the preseason opener. In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis said “this was the moment we’ve all be waiting for.”

Amen.

This was a special day for the Davis’ family and Mark Davis was able to share it with his mother Carol, the widow of the late, great Al Davis.

The day kicked off with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the stadium, which Davis led.

This has been a long time coming for Davis, his family, the Raiders’ coaches, players and staff, the city of Las Vegas, and of course, the entire Raider Nation. It’s just the preseason, but Saturday was a special day for this community and it is a glimpse of things to come in the future.

Other Raiders’ links:

• Cashless stadium: Allegiant Stadium only accepts credit cards as payment.
• Mail time: The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a Raiders’ mailbag.
• Knapp memorial: The celebration of life for former Raiders’ assistant coach Greg Knapp was held. Knapp, 58, died last month after a bicycle accident.
• Great keepsake: All fans found this cool towel on their seats at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night.