For better or for worse, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has decided that Las Vegas is the future. Although it is still a ways away, the team’s tenure in Oakland is finished after the 2019 season.
A lot of planning has gone into the move, and the Raiders announced a partnership deal for the naming rights to their new stadium, which will be called Allegiant Stadium. The stadium is currently under construction and will be ready for the 2020 NFL season.
Additionally, Davis has been doing charity work in the area as a way to begin to introduce himself and his team to the Las Vegas community.
As for the players and staff, many will be looking for permanent and part-time residency in Las Vegas. According to Scott Blair of NBC Sports BayArea, quarterback Derek Carr and head coach Jon Gruden will be neighbors:
“We are next door neighbors. We will be, anyway, but that’s for the future.,” Carr said. “That’ll be fun. Hopefully there will be a lot of knocks on the door. Maybe we can carpool. That would be good for us.”
Both Carr and Gruden are moving a short distance away from the team’s new training facility in Henderson. Carr has stated he is moving close to team facilities so that he can be a short distance away from his family.
Gruden and Carr are already on the same page after one year of partnership, so becoming next-door neighbors may lead to an even better relationship. Of course, as Carr said, that is still in the future. The Raiders will finish out this season in Oakland before even thinking about the actual physical move to Las Vegas.
Despite that, Carr still had some jokes to make about his new neighborhood. He said that he and Gruden might as well just merge properties to make one big back yard.
While it appears Carr will come to know Gruden even better than he does now, there is no guarantee that he will even be the Raiders starting quarterback when they move in a year. Carr has a lot riding on the 2019 season as far as determining his future with the organization goes.
