Over the last two years, a trio of teams has been rumored to be looking towards a relocation. The St. Louis Rams executed their move to the west coast and became the Los Angeles Rams. The San Diego Chargers moved quickly in their shift down the coast to join the Rams in Los Angeles. But now one of the NFL’s historic franchises is looking to leave California and head to Sin City.
The Oakland Raiders are filing official relocation paperwork with the NFL in an attempt to slide to Las Vegas. The Raiders originally started in Oakland back in 1960, moved to Los Angeles in 1982 before heading back to Oakland in 1995. Recently they’ve been battling the city of Oakland over the lack of being able to provide a new stadium for the franchise. After filing a trademark for the ‘Las Vegas Raiders’ name, it looks like the Raiders are taking their team and leaving the city.
Following from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The Raiders will file relocation papers to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, according to sources familiar with their thinking. After a year of planning, debate, and bold action, after many years of a sub-par stadium option in Oakland, the Raiders have made a firm decision on their future.
The stunning move, one that should be made official in the coming days, is expected to add a new city to the NFL’s ever-changing landscape. The Raiders would need 24 votes from the league’s owners to formerly make the move, a vote that will come this spring.
The city of Oakland has made no progress to keep the team, sources say. It has not come up with a stadium proposal that league or independent sources believe is credible. At this point, it is only a matter of time before they officially leave.
There are still questions, including whether or not the Raiders do the deal for the $1.9 billion Las Vegas Stadium project with the help of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson or not. That was the original plan — the Adelson family would contribute $650 million, the Raiders would contribute $500 million, and there would be $750 million in Clark County hotel room tax revenue. They have not yet come to terms.
Earlier in December, the Raiders presented a plan to NFL owners to finance the stadium with the help from Goldman Sachs advisors. Either option would work.
But the Raiders do hold the Adelson family in the highest regard for everything they’ve done to advance the project, and it would not be where it is without the family’s help. The Raiders would acknowledge that.
No sources would estimate a vote count, but it’s headed in the right direction.
Now it is just paperwork and as Rapoport points out, it is pending a vote from the NFL owners but this almost seems to be a no-brainer. The business a team could bring the NFL in Las Vegas could challenge some of the top hitters in the league. Plus, with a good, young team on their way up the ranks in the NFL, this could be a monumental move, way more impactful than the Rams or Chargers relocation.
We’ll be sure to update you as more information becomes available.
(UPDATE 1/19/17)
The Raiders move to Vegas is slowly coming together. Las Vegas’ Clark County commissioner Steve Sisolak tweeted that the team officially filed the necessary paperwork for a move to Vegas.
It is official! The @RAIDERS have filed their paperwork to relocate to #LasVegas.
— Steve Sisolak (@SteveSisolak) January 19, 2017
