Stadium Impact: Las Vegas Bowl Shifts To 11:30AM Dec. 17 After NFL Flexes Raiders From Sunday Night Slot Dec. 18
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
The NFL has moved the Raiders-Patriots on Dec. 18 from a Sunday Night Football slot to a 1 PM start, meaning the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 17 has been switched to 11:30AM from 4:30 PM so that Allegiant Stadium workers have time to convert the field from the college bowl game to the NFL contest.
The NFL believes the Washington vs New York Giants game has more appeal than Patriots vs Raiders, so Commanders/Giants now has the prime time TV position on NBC.
The Raiders vs Patriots game will be kicking off at 1:05 PM. The Patriots are 6-6 and in last place in their division, while the Raiders are 5-7 and have underperformed even though Las Vegas has won three straight games.
The impact of the NFL’s TV time switch hurts the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl.
The Las Vegas Bowl’s 4:30 PM local start placed the game into a 7:30 PM start on the East Coast on a Saturday night.
Now, the game starts at 11:30AM here in Las Vegas and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Those five hours are crucial for stadium workers to prepare the playing field from the Las Vegas Bowl on a Saturday for the Raiders game Sunday afternoon. The Raiders play on a retractable grass playing field that sits in a tray and is maintained just outside the stadium.
