The Las Vegas Raiders may actually become a thing if Raiders owner Mark Davis gets his wish. On Friday, the Nevada state legislature approved a plan to fund the construction of a new stadium in Las Vegas that will host UNLV football and a professional football team.
Raiders owner Mark Davis has been pushing for a new stadium in Las Vegas, since approval for new Oakland facility is still up in the air. Davis set his sights on Vegas after the lack of success with the Oakland legislature and he seems very eager to leave Oakland based on the following quote after the approval was announced:
“All parties have worked extremely hard to develop and approve this tremendous stadium project that will serve as a proud new home for the entire Raider Nation.”
The city of Oakland is continuing to work on plans for a new Raiders stadium and they have not given up hope yet. Bay Area Council president Jim Wunderman had the following response to the Vegas stadium approval:
“This vote changes nothing. We’re not giving up on keeping the Raiders in the Bay Area,” Wunderman said in a statement. “We believe absolutely there is support here to keep the Raiders here. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is committed to finding a path forward that can provide the city a good deal and the Raiders the quality facility they need. The NFL says it believes the Raiders should stay here. And millions of fans around the region and throughout Northern California want to keep the Raiders here. We’re not throwing in our cards just yet.”
Ultimately, the NFL owners must approve any relocation request made by the Raiders and would likely prefer that they remain in Oakland. However, stadium deals mean new revenue streams for the owners, so if Oakland fails to approve a new facility, it’s likely that the Las Vegas Raiders will become a reality.