The opening concert at Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team, has been rescheduled for February due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Garth Brooks had been due to play at the 65,000-seat stadium on August 22 but the gig will now take place on February 27. All tickets will be honoured for the rescheduled date and refunds will be available.
Country music star Brooks, who is the best-selling solo artist in US history with over 181 million records sold, was announced as the first major concert at Allegiant Stadium back in March, with 65,000 tickets selling out in just 75 minutes.
Speaking at a virtual news conference to discuss the news, Brooks said: “When people go, ‘What’s the first show that was ever in the stadium?’ You want them to go, ‘Garth Brooks’. Now the first show is going to be someone else, because the scheduling now gets kicked back.
“That’s an ego thing, but I’ll always remind people that we were the first, whether we are or aren’t … They’re not going to take that away from me.”
Brooks added: “It’s going to be the coolest gig on the planet. Anybody who has seen that stadium, either from the air or from the road, that may be one of the coolest-looking structures in this country … When you pass it, you go, ‘Oooh, I want to play that thing.’”
The Raiders are due to play two pre-season games at Allegiant Stadium, against the Arizona Cardinals on August 27 and the Los Angeles Rams on September 3. The Raiders’ first regular-season game at the state-of-the-art venue will be against the New Orleans Saints on September 21.
The $2bn (£1.5bn/€1.7bn) Allegiant Stadium will also host the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ college football team and the Pac-12 Championship Game. Work is nearing completion and David Manica, president and owner of MANICA Architecture, recently provided a behind-the-scenes look at the interior and hospitality innovations at the venue.
Image: Allegiant Stadium
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