Allegiant Stadium and the Las Vegas Raiders are excited to announce the commencement of the first Raiders Den Program. Yesterday, three groups of Southern Nevada high school participants showcased their final presentations to a crowd of over 200 at Allegiant Stadium. After their presentations, participants were able to hear feedback from a professional panel that included Las Vegas Raiders Vice President – Government Relations Piper Overstreet-White; Community Programs Advisor at M.Y.S. Firm Ken Evans; and former NBA player CJ Watson.

One group of participants was chosen as the winning team and was awarded $20,000 in funding for their business idea. The winning team included students Ayden Queano, Josefina Villa, and Jayda Elliott with their stadium wayfinding product Raiders Way. Runner up teams and products were Match & Market by Diva Saxena and Madisyn Queano, and Sonic Station AI from Ivana Gavrilovic, Gabriel Tuitele, and Sophia Crawford.

Raiders Den, which kicked off on July 10, was a dynamic seven-day summer program designed exclusively for high school students currently enrolled at accredited high schools in Southern Nevada. Created by the Allegiant Stadium Community in collaboration with stadium Community Advisory Board members, this initiative invited aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch a product or business ideas they believed would positively impact the stadium.

“The guiding principles of Allegiant Stadium Community programming are creating opportunity, access, and resources for the purposes of fostering equity advancement and positive impact,” said Neumiia Duncan-Reed, Allegiant Stadium VP of Human Resources and Community Impact. “Raiders Den is a prime example of the program doing just that while bringing about real-world change.”

Through this immersive experience, participants tapped into a wealth of knowledge and guidance to refine their innovative concepts. Adopting curriculum such as “Finding Your Idea,” “Conducting Market Research,” “Business Planning and Pitching,” and more from StartUpNV, the students used these core principles to develop and refine their ideas. Jeff Saling and Evan Louie, members of the Allegiant Stadium Community Advisory Board, were instrumental in the execution of the inaugural Raiders Den program. Their personal passion for entrepreneurship is deeply embedded within the initiative. 

Aligned with Allegiant Stadium’s core principles of career development and supplier diversity, Raiders Den provided a unique platform for students to receive coaching and mentorship from industry experts.

For more information, visit:  https://www.allegiantstadium.com/community/raiders-den-program.

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ABOUT ALLEGIANT STADIUM
Home to the Las Vegas Raiders, located adjacent to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, Allegiant Stadium is an award-winning global events destination. A state-of-the-art, multipurpose venue with a capacity of 65,000, Allegiant Stadium has hosted world-class music artists such as Garth Brooks, The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Taylor Swift, and BTS with more legendary concerts to come. The fully enclosed stadium is also home to the UNLV Rebels football team and has hosted premier sporting events such as the Concacaf Gold Cup Final, Pac-12 Championship Game, Las Vegas Bowl, and WWE SummerSlam. The venue also hosted the NFL Pro Bowl in 2022 and has been selected to host Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. Allegiant Stadium is committed to giving back to the community through numerous diversity, inclusion, and community outreach initiatives. In addition, Allegiant Stadium is proud to be LEED Gold certified and is dedicated to implementing sustainable practices and programs. For more information on Allegiant Stadium, visit www.allegiantstadium.com or follow us at @allegiantstadm on Twitter and @allegiantstadium on Instagram.