Raiders' season-opener sells out, will be televised locally

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders sold out their season opener in time for the game to be broadcast on local television.

The Raiders received a 24-hour extension to avoid a local blackout and announced the sellout for Monday night's game against San Diego on Saturday.

Despite worries about how the economy could impact ticket sales in the NFL this year, all 16 games on opening weekend were declared sellouts. The last time a season opener was blacked out locally came in 2004, when the New Orleans Saints hosted Seattle.

The Raiders have sold out 18 of 24 games the past three seasons. In their first 11 seasons back from Los Angeles, the Raiders sold out only 25 of 88 regular-season games in time to avoid a blackout.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press