- The Las Vegas Raiders have imposed vaccine requirements on fans attending their games in 2021.
- These requirements are in line with Emergency Declaration 049, issued by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.
- Masks will not be required, but vaccinations will be.
LAS VEGAS - The Las Vegas Raiders have become the second team in the NFL to require proof of vaccination in order to attend their home games.
As a consequence of this, they are going to allow fans to attend games without masks, as well as offer on-site vaccinations to the unvaccinated. The New Orleans Saints previously mandated vaccines or a recent negative test in order to attend games at the Superdome.
The Raiders took a bit of a different tack, requiring proof of vaccination via the CLEAR App, and not accepting negative tests as a basis for entry.
However, the Saints will require masks, where the Raiders will not.
Health And Safety Is A Priority
“Health and safety has always been our number one priority,” said Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders. “After consultation with Governor Sisolak and other community leaders, this policy ensures that we will be able to operate at full capacity without masks for fully vaccinated fans for the entire season.”
With the Raiders joining the Saints in imposing vaccination requirements on fans watching the games in the stadium, online gamblers may wonder if other teams will follow suit.
As of now, only the Raiders and the Saints have announced policies to this effect, and they’ve taken multiple different forms.
It will be interesting to observe the proliferation of various forms of COVID-19 mitigation measures at NFL games, which are undoubtedly large possible vectors of infection without these measures in place due to the large number of people in attendance.
Emergency Directive 049
The Raiders’ mitigation methods arose out of Emergency Directive 049, issued by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.
“Masks are not required for FULLY VACCINATED persons at indoor large events in counties with “substantial” or "high” transmission rates if ALL of the following conditions are met:
- It is held at a venue with fixed seating capacity of 4,000 or greater;
- The event is for a discrete period of time;
- The event requires tickets or registration;
- The event is open only to those who hold tickets or registrations;
- The event operator maintains access control that effectively prevents unticketed or unregistered or otherwise unauthorized persons from entering or attending the event; and,
- The venue operator and event organizer require proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination for every attendee and staff member at that event. If an attendee fails to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, they MUST NOT be admitted.”
The Raiders have followed these directions to a tee, and it follows that other teams will follow similar directives in their states, should they be issued.
Any NFL bettor might wonder if this could have any impact on the home field advantage that the Raiders enjoy, or if it will not matter at all in terms of attendance - a question that only time may answer.