Since the state of Nevada passed through all the necessarily political hurdles to fund a new Raiders stadium in Las Vegas, a lot has come out from the NFL questioning whether relocation itself is etched in stone.
First, it was this report from Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole indicating that the league might have some issues with a revenue share split between the Raiders and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson (more on that here).
Then, it was sources close to the situation telling The Washington Post that there’s concern over the relatively small market size of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
And finally, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II cautioned against the idea that relocation of the Raiders from Oakland to Vegas is imminent.
If this sounds like a coordinated effort from the NFL to put the breaks on what appears to be a fast moving train, that’s because it likely is.
Adding more to this, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on Wednesday that there is still extensive work to be done before the Raiders’ plan to relocate is approved by the league. Here’s some what what the commissioner had to say.
“There’s still a great deal of information that we need to gather with respect to the circumstances we see in Las Vegas, the opportunities and also the challenges,” Goodell said from the Fall League Meeting in Houston, via NFL.com. “Those are the things we’ll look at through the committee, and report back to them maybe as early as December, but more likely later than that.”
Even if approved, the Raiders wouldn’t be relocating to Vegas for a few seasons. So it stands to reason that the league would take its time here.
Though, there’s definitely reason to read in between the lines. The circumstances Goodell speaks of likely include any relationship the Raiders will get into with Sheldon Adelson, who has had some shady dealings in the past. Also, market size is definitely a concern for the NFL. If it impacts the bottom line of the league, pushback itself promises to be prevalent among the 31 other owners.
“As it specifically relates to the Raiders, the presentation was informative. It was factual,” Goodell said. “The membership had the opportunity to ask questions. The chairman of the committee, Art Rooney, made it very clear that this is something that is a significant focus of the stadium committee, has been and will be going forward.”
Considering Rooney himself spoke out regarding the relocation, its interesting that he’s the one Goodell would reference here. Though, that obviously has as much to do with Rooney being the chairman of the stadium committee than anything else.
As it stands now, Raiders owner Mark Davis seems fully committed to uprooting his franchise from Northern California. The state of Nevada has passed through all the political hurdles it needed to in order to make relocation possible.
It’s now up to the NFL and the owners of the 31 other teams to decide whether this will come to fruition. At the very least, we now know it won’t be smooth sailing for the Raiders and Las Vegas. That much is for sure.