There has been a lot of talk about the Oakland Raiders and owner Mark Davis packing up their bags and leaving Oakland in recent years as Davis has made it very clear that he wants a new stadium and the city of Oakland didn’t seem to be on board with building him one.
When Davis began looking elsewhere to places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and San Antonio, Hall of Famer and former Raider Ronnie Lott put together an investment group to try and keep the team in Oakland.
With the help of Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf they put together a plan for a new stadium, but it was not enough for Davis and Las Vegas and the state of Nevada made a big push for the Raiders when they approved the building of a $1.9 billion stadium, with $750 million of that coming from public funding.
One of the main investors in that stadium was casino module Sheldon Adelson, and the deal to move to Vegas looked all but done. But after some disagreements Adelson ended up backing out of the deal, and some other investors followed putting Davis back at square one.
Oakland and Schaaf saw that as an opportunity to try and keep the team in Oakland, as they recently created a last-ditch proposal for a new Oakland stadium, but Bank of America stepped in as an investor in the Las Vegas stadium, and Davis’ plans to move the team were back in the works.
The last roadblock for Davis was an owners vote, set to take place Monday morning at the annual owner’s spring meeting in Phoenix. Needing a majority, Davis received 31 ‘yes’ votes and the move to Vegas is now in place, via Adam Schefter of ESPN:
Raiders to Vegas: 31-1 Miami opposed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 27, 2017
The move is set to take place in 2020 once the stadium is built, so the Raiders will still remain in Oakland for a few more seasons. Their lease at the Oakland Coliseum ends after this season, although they can renew it for one more season if they choose.
The Raiders will become the second professional team to call Las Vegas home, as an NHL expansion team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, will begin playing there this fall.
