Fueling the already rampant speculation that the Oakland Raiders will soon be the Las Vegas Raiders, the SNTIC (Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee) will reportedly recommend a stadium for the NFL franchise, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report.
Cole notes that MGM could fight this through legislative measures, which is hardly surprising. After all, Las Vegas casinos are constantly fighting for top billing on the strip.
The Sands has a big hand in the potential move to get the Raiders to Las Vegas with a commitment to share some of the cost on a domed stadium to make it happen. Should this happen, then obviously the casino would stand to profit in a major way.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has expressed a bit of concern about how the city will pay for the $780 million on this proposed deal (more on that here). That said, just days after making comments towards that end, she made it clear she welcomes the chance to bring the Raiders to Las Vegas.
It certainly appears as if the city itself is paving a superhighway for Mark Davis and the Raiders to make the jump from Northern California to Southern Nevada. The issue of sports betting shouldn’t really be an issue any more, since anyone can make a bet online at any time from anywhere in the world.
At this point, the greatest obstacle standing in the way of such a move is the NFL itself. Commissioner Roger Goodell recently convinced Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to consider a new proposal to keep the Raiders in the East Bay. This proposal is being spearheaded by Ronnie Lott and a prominent group of Bay Area businessmen.
This is going to be a fascinating story to follow. Davis seems to be thoroughly finished with Oakland and is making no bones about his desire to move to Vegas. But will the NFL stand in his way? Stay tuned.