The Best Social Network in America

The best social network in America launches again tonight. But it’s not available on your phone. 

As the NFL season kicks off, every stadium around the country turns into a living group chat. Tailgates. Fantasy s**t talk. Bills fans going straight through tables. 

Several years ago, I realized the power of that community, and I placed a bet. 

A partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders and ASTOUND Group to build Twitch’s first permanent, physical brand experience: a 26,000-square-foot lounge inside Allegiant Stadium. Always on and designed for connection.

Why the Raiders? Because the brand fit was real. Raiders are a challenger brand, just like Twitch. Vegas was exploding as an esports and events hub, perfectly positioned to reach gamers and adjacent fans across sports and music. The lounge let us extend Twitch into a year-round content engine, from co-created streams and Rivals tournaments to ad-sales moments during CES. 

On site, I watched it go from dust to a real physical space. Streaming hook-ups with line-of-sight to the field. Screens lit-up with Twitch creators. You could feel the format shift from an audience simply watching a brand to an audience participating with a brand. 

Then COVID hit. Our big launch moment…gone. 

But in retrospect, it didn’t kill the idea. It only made it more important. Because since then, we’ve been re-learning just how much in-person connection matters. And the data backs it up: 84% of Gen Z and Millennials say they value brands that blend tech with physical experiences, and 78% prefer digital touchpoints that enhance the in-person moment, not replace it. 

As this season starts, it’s a good reminder that every brand should be thinking about how to design for community in a world that craves it more than ever.

If you’re at Allegiant this fall, come see it in person. I’ll be the guy grinning in the corner, remembering when it was just a pile of dust in the desert.