We might find out Sunday if a rock star is allowed into Allegiant Stadium with a live snake.
Pioneering rock legend Alice Cooper is playing halftime of the Chiefs-Raiders game. Cooper is to play three songs (guess which ones before school’s out) with David Perrico and the Raiders House Band.
Game time is 1:25 p.m. Be seated an hour beforehand to catch in-stadium, pregame revelry. Michelle Williams, late of Destiny’s Child, will sing the national anthem.
The 78-year-old Cooper is currently co-starring as father of 58-year-old Criss Angel in “Welcome to Our Nightmare” at Angel’s Planet Hollywood theater. The rock-magic theater production plays Nov. 27, 28 and 29 and Dec. 4, 5 and 6. The Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 dates were added last week.
Sunday marks Cooper’s first appearance for the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
The Raiders have built a deep, diverse roster of halftime performers over the past six seasons, including Steve Aoki, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon of Journey, Gladys Knight, Marie Osmond, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Too Short, Sammy Hagar, Marshmello, Lil Wayne, Yolanda Adams, VanessaHudgens, Tinashe, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of Run-DMC, Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge, Cypress Hill, Billy Gibbons, Flo Rida, George Thorogood and even the Grambling State University Marching Band.
Owner Mark Davis says, “It’s a tribute to (the club’s senior vice president and chief experience officer) Brad Phinney and the rest of the Silver and Black production team to present the best game-day experience in the NFL.” He might be biased, but he’s not wrong.
Excellence abounds
On the topic of gridiron activity, on and off the field …
The Hall of Excellence has added several fascinating and historically relevant items at its Fontainebleau display space. Included are the jersey Patrick Mahomes wore when the Chiefs beat Tom Brady in his last regular-season game against them on Oct. 2, 2022, a 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium; Bo Jackson’s Raiders jersey; Jesse Owens’ gold medal in the 100-yard dash from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; and Elvis Presley’s suit from when he opened at the International Hotel on July 31, 1969.
Operated by Brady and broadcast great Jim Gray and his wife, Frann, the Hall of Excellence recently entered into a partnership with Delta Airlines. Every member of the SkyMiles loyalty program receives free admission to the Hall. This offer covers only about 120 million members worldwide. Delta carries about 5 million passengers to Las Vegas annually.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.