The Oakland Raiders Are One Step Closer To Becoming The Las Vegas Raiders
Monday, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 1 into law, allocating $1.9 billion to construct a 65,000-seat domed stadium, just south of the Las Vegas Strip. Projected for completion in 2020, the brand new venue is intended to house both the Oakland Raiders and UNLV Running Rebels football team.
“We know this is the beginning of a long approval process, but thanks to our legislature now everyone knows what we all know that Las Vegas is the perfect place for an NFL team called the Las Vegas Raiders,” explained the governor.
Per the details of the final bill, the state will kick in $750 million, courtesy of a 0.88 percent Clark County room tax increase (Clark County is Las Vegas and the surrounding metro area), with $650 million coming from the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and $500 million being anted up by the Raiders.
Now that the state of Nevada’s public/private stadium partnership has been approved, the next phase of the Raiders potential relocation involves owner Mark Davis convincing 24 of the NFL’s 32 franchise owners to approve the move from Oakland. With a long sought new stadium finally in his grasp, the son of Raiders iconic owner Al Davis is dead set on moving his team.
The club will officially apply for relocation in January, with the fate of the 500-mile transfer from Oakland to Las Vegas determined over the course of the following few months. Davis intends on beginning the discussion process with his fellow owners during an already scheduled meeting, later this week in Houston.
Even if the move is approved, Davis will likely keep his team in Oakland, for at least the next two seasons, due to an existing lease with the city, as well as the lack of a suitable temporary venue in Nevada. Sam Boyd Stadium, UNLV’s 40,000-seat home field, is not considered worthy of hosting an NFL team for multiple seasons.
Despite some NFL bigwigs voicing their opposition to the Raiders leaving California for Nevada, the significant public contribution involved with The Silver State’s effort to lure the NFL to Las Vegas may make it difficult for owners and the league office to turn their back on such an offer.
The NHL is already rolling the dice in Sin City, with an expansion hockey team scheduled to begin play at the brand new T-Mobile Arena in 2017.
In an amazing turn of events, it is possible that the Las Vegas metro area (estimated population of two million people) may go from zero professional sports franchises to two, within the span of a very short amount of time.
In addition to serving as one of the world’s foremost tourist destinations, the Las Vegas Valley’s resident population has doubled in the last 25 years.
