Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis isn’t bluffing about his interest in moving his franchise to Las Vegas.
In Vegas on Friday, Davis was asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal if he’d turn his back on moving to Nevada if a new viable stadium proposal were to spring up in Oakland. His response left no room for interpretation.
“No, I would not, and I’ve made that clear,” he said. “The opportunity came up in Las Vegas, and we’re giving it full bore. This is not a pawn in a game. We are serious. Right now, I’m focused on Las Vegas. We think it could make a great marriage with Las Vegas and the Raiders.”
These comments walk hand in hand with a recent promotional video (watch here) released by the Raiders touting a move to Vegas. And Davis isn’t the least bit concerned about losing his fan base, should the move happen. He recently said moving to Vegas would “unite the Raiders nation.”
Public funding is a huge part of the proposed deal on the table in Vegas. Davis has partnered with The Sands casino on this proposal and would need $750 million in public funds for the domed stadium to be built. At this point, aside from the NFL’s approval, this is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of building the new home of the Raiders.
“The main thing is finding out if the public contribution is going to be there,” Davis said. “Whatever private money is needed, we’ll come up with that.”
Davis has support from Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman, who made it clear she’s all-in on the Raiders moving to Vegas recently (more on that here). However, she has also expressed the slightest bit of trepidation about how the math will work out.
While there are details to be worked out, it seems like Davis isn’t going to take no for an answer when it comes to moving his team to Nevada.