UNLV football coach Tony Sanchez grew up 22 miles from the Oakland Coliseum, where he attended countless Raiders games. If Raiders owner Mark Davis has his way, Sanchez might eventually need only take a short stroll across campus to reach the NFL team’s new stadium in Las Vegas.
About two dozen fans of the Oakland Raiders were at UNLV to support team owner Mark Davis, who is pushing to move the Raiders to Las Vegas if a $1.4 billion, 65,00-seat stadium gets approved.
In one of the beginning steps in what could be a long process, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis vowed on Thursday to attempt to relocate his NFL franchise to Las Vegas if a stadium is constructed primarily for the team.
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis on Thursday told the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee that he wants to move his NFL franchise to Las Vegas, and he pledged $500 million toward the construction of a $1.4 billion domed stadium if a public-private financing plan is approved by the Legislature.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will not be attending any potential stadium rallies on the Strip, even if he recognizes Las Vegas as a valuable piece in a high-level chess match.
Those National Football League fans hoping to get a definitive resolution on whether the Oakland Raiders are Las Vegas-bound will likely be disappointed in the outcome of Thursday’s Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting.
The Oakland Raiders will seek relocation to Las Vegas if a domed stadium is built here, according to two reports. Both Sports Illustrated and the Bleacher Report reported Monday that Raiders owner Mark Davis will pledge Thursday to move the team to Southern Nevada if a 65,000-seat stadium is built along Tropicana Avenue near the Strip.
Meetings will be scheduled, big money will be discussed and, eventually, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis will make a decision. Davis’ decision will be based on money, of course, and nothing will happen overnight.
A consultant hired by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Campus Improvement Authority says a domed stadium on 42 acres at Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane would not disrupt operations at McCarran International Airport. But a McCarran official said the FAA is still reviewing the stadium site.
If Mark Davis is indeed using Las Vegas and a proposed $1.3 billion Strip stadium as a way to land a new palace to replace the ramshackle site that is O.co Coliseum in Oakland, he sure is keeping a straight face about things.
