NFL rumors: Raiders expected to play in Las Vegas by 2019
By Matt Conner
NFL owners are likely to vote for the Oakland Raiders’ proposal to move the franchise to Las Vegas with a potential starting date of 2019.
The Oakland Raiders will likely be moving again. The franchise that has relocated between Oakland and Los Angeles (and Oakland again in 1995) will be moving for the fourth time, this time out of the state of California for the first time, if rumors are true.
NFL owners are set to vote at the annual league meeting on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona on whether or not to approve Mark Davis’ proposal to move the Raiders to Las Vegas after other financing options fell through. With new financial backing, Davis is proposing the move and CBS Sports Jason La Canfora says there’s every reason to expect the team to move in just two seasons.
"There is a Monday vote contingent on a few factors like Mark Davis being able to meet certain lease obligations and being able to meet certain contingencies down the road, but either way the Raiders look poised to get their wish. If this comes to a vote, I can’t imagine it won’t pass. They don’t generally bring issues like this to the forefront of a vote without having already vetted it through the powerful stadium and finance committees. If they think it’s worth going to a vote, then you can rest assured that there’s every likelihood that there’s 24 teams willing to vote this ahead."
La Canfora also mentions that there are myriad issues ahead, including debt ratio for the stadium, further financing, finding sponsors and more, but the framework is in place for Nevada to have its first pro sports team of any kind. Other leagues have flirted with potential expansion or movement into Sin City, but the NFL will be the first to actually land there. It will be interesting to see if there are any issues that arise in terms of gambling or even the city in general as players call it home (or visit from out of town).
The Raiders would bring an exciting young product to town after years of poor play on the field. Derek Carr would be an exciting face of the franchise to pitch to a new fan base, and an exciting offense would make filling the seats that much easier beyond the initial surge of interest to be among the first to see the team.