Las Vegas has been awarded an NFL franchise in the Raiders and done so in overwhelming fashion, as owners voted 31-1 on Monday to allow Mark Davis to move his team from Oakland.
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Owners of the league’s 32 teams have gathered in Phoenix for their spring meetings, and atop the agenda is whether to allow the Oakland Raiders to relocate to Southern Nevada.
The Raiders need 24 votes in favor to be approved for relocation to Las Vegas, and one thing in Mark Davis’ favor is that the NFL no longer is run by its old guard.
In this ever-advancing storyline of the Raiders relocating to Las Vegas and playing in a 65,000-seat domed stadium, the most significant form of progress occurred earlier this week in Florida.
When others talk about how some NFL owners still might be nervous about the gambling aspects of Las Vegas or how tickets might sell or the market size, never forget this number: $750 million in tax revenue.
Amazingly, the $750 million in public money already committed to a proposed 65,000-seat domed stadium in Las Vegas seems to have fallen to sidebar status.
If the Raiders ultimately can strike a deal with Goldman Sachs that makes up the $650 million the Adelson family had pledged toward a new Las Vegas stadium, the odds of Oakland getting the 24 votes needed for relocation isn’t at all hurt by the casino executive’s withdrawal.
In making official Thursday what has been reported for months by applying for relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, the Raiders moved this town one enormous step closer to the sort of national relevancy only those cities housing a National Football League team know.
San Diego might have opened a door much wider for the potential of Sam Boyd Stadium hosting the Raiders should relocation plans be approved by league owners and Oakland fans protest with their wallets.
Even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was positive in his comments about Las Vegas, which doesn’t necessarily mean hell has frozen over but requires you to wear a parka.