The entire Oakland Raiders relocation saga really doesn’t seem to be closer to coming to a conclusion. Just when it looked like the Raiders themselves would be moving to Las Vegas, a couple major sticking points were thrown into the equation.
On Monday, Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson, who had been the brains and cash behind the scenes regarding a Raiders venue in the desert, surprisingly dropped out of the project. With that, the Raiders lost out on $650 million that was set to go to the project (more on that here).
Then on Tuesday, reports surfaced that Goldman Sachs would only be involved in the project if it included Adelson. That came mere hours after the Raiders themselves indicated that Sachs would take Adelson’s place as a major investor in the project.
Needless to say, what seemed like a slam dunk just a few days ago appears to be in jeopardy. Despite the Raiders filing for relocation and the Nevada State Legislature approving $750 million in public financing for the desert venue, it’s now unlikely the Raiders will move to Vegas.
Enter into the equation San Diego, California’s southernmost city. According to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, the city has reached out to to the Raiders as a potential relocation destination should the Vegas project fall through.
“Mayor Kevin Faulconer spoke with an NFL official to let the league know the city is eager to engage when appropriate,” Acee reported. “And multiple sources said another person representing the city exchanged calls with a Raiders official, though it is not clear whether the sides spoke.”
It’s not yet known whether this is a real possibility. San Diego’s stadium is considered as bad as what the Raiders are dealing with in Oakland. Issues between the city and the Chargers relating to the stadium situation also led to the Chargers themselves relocating to Los Angeles.
As it is, this is definitely another thing to keep an eye on when it comes to the Raiders’ stadium situation. For now, it appears we are much further away from a conclusion than we were on Sunday.