Las Vegas Raiders? It just rolls off the tongue. And it could be happening sooner than most realize.
This is not a ruse, nor is it a joke: The Oakland Raiders could be moving to Las Vegas sometime in the near future.
Vincent Bonsigore of the Los Angeles Daily News called this upcoming week “huge” for owner Mark Davis and the Raiders and said a move to Las Vegas is “getting realer by the day.”
As we passed along recently, Davis is set to visit Vegas for a second time regarding a partnership with the Las Vegas Sands and UNLV to build a new domed stadium.
This meeting with the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee was confirmed by the Sands’ Twitter page called “Support LV Dome” late last week.
The Raiders don’t currently have a legitimate stadium to call their home. Yes, they play in the Coliseum in Oakland, but the dump of a stadium recently lost sponsorship when Overstock pulled out, and it’s nothing more than a temporary solution.
Oakland has been playing hardball with Davis and the Raiders for years about working with the franchise to build a new stadium. At this point, it’s looking more and more like such an arrangement simply isn’t feasible.
Meanwhile, Davis has a very attractive situation developing in one of the biggest tourist destinations in the United States. And it’s becoming quite clear that this isn’t just a pipe dream, either.
The NFL recently made it clear that nothing in the rules prohibits the Raiders from moving. And while some owners will object to the move, based solely on the casinos that reside in Vegas, they could find themselves overruled if a vote ever came to pass.
Obviously the gambling issue would have to be addressed. With so much money being thrown around in Vegas every weekend during the NFL season, it stands to reason that some players might be tempted to get in on the action or be swayed to take money to influence outcomes.
That said, the NFL is all about making money and providing entertainment. There aren’t many cities in America that are better than Vegas when it comes to these two things.