PHOENIX — Vegas, baby!
NFL owners approved the Raiders’ move from Oakland, Calif., to Las Vegas by a 31-1 vote Monday, sending one of the league’s legendary franchises to the gambling capital of America. The Raiders are the third NFL team to move in the last 14 months, following the Rams’ and Chargers’ exodus to Los Angeles.
“You know our goal is to have 32 stable franchises for each team and the league,” commissioner Roger Goodell said at the league meetings. “We work very hard and never want to see the relocation of a franchise. We worked tirelessly over the last nine months or so on a solution. We needed to provide certainties and stability for the Raiders and the league.”
The move comes after years of the Raiders and the NFL pursuing a new stadium in Oakland. Instead, they found a new stadium in Las Vegas, which offered $750 million in public money. The Bank of America also is giving Raiders owner Mark Davis a $650 million loan, making Monday’s vote an easy one for NFL owners. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was the only dissenting vote.
“My father used to say that the greatness of the Raiders is in its future, and the opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is one opportunity that will give us the ability to achieve that greatness,” Davis said, invoking the memory of his famous father, Al Davis.
This is not the first time the Raiders have left Oakland. They played in Los Angeles from 1982-94 before returning to the Bay Area.
Las Vegas has long been a taboo city for sports leagues, but that attitude clearly is changing. The NHL has the expansion Golden Knights opening play this fall. An NFL spokesman confirmed people still will be able to bet on Raiders games at Vegas sportsbooks after the team moves.
For the time being, the Raiders will stay in Oakland. Their lease at the Oakland Coliseum runs through 2018. Davis said they may even stay through 2019. The Las Vegas stadium is not expected to be ready until the 2020 season. Playing in front of fans who feel they are being abandoned will create an interesting atmosphere for the next few years.
“I have mixed feelings, obviously,” Davis said. “I love Oakland. I love the fans in Oakland. I know there’s going to be disappointment and maybe some anger. I just hope that in the future, as we play in Oakland this year, that they understand it wasn’t the players, it wasn’t the coaches that made this decision. It was me that made it. If they have anybody to talk to about it, it should be me.”
Davis said he would spend the coming days and weeks trying to explain why he made this move with the franchise.
The city of Oakland made a last-ditch effort to keep the Raiders, presenting a $1.3 billion plan for a stadium that would be ready by 2021, but the NFL did not feel it was a viable option.
“You will never ever see me wearing anything that says the ‘Raiders,’ ” Oakland City Council President Larry Reid told the Associated Press, saying he will consult with attorneys to see if the council can force the Raiders out of the Coliseum early.
Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was at the league meetings, said the league must be careful putting young players in Las Vegas.
“They may not like me saying this but … Las Vegas is a beautiful place. A lot of times when you think about Las Vegas, you just think about the Strip, right?” Marshall said. “But I just want to make sure the players are protected. I think it could be a tough place for a kid coming out of college, so that locker room has to be strong because there’s so much there, there’s access to so much. It’s a Strip, but it’s really big, and it can be overwhelming at times for young, immature players. That’s my thoughts on Las Vegas.”
