If you want to bet on Oakland Raiders moving to Las Vegas, think again.
Raiders’ owner Mark Davis paid a visit to Sin City on Friday for a meeting with Las Vegas Sands boss Sheldon Adelson. Davis toured the 42-acre site that could host a proposed $1.2 billion stadium at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which supporters say will push through with or without an NFL team.
Hours after the meeting, the NFL distributed a memo to all 32 teams’ PR directors specifically addressing the talk of Las Vegas as a possible destination for an NFL team.
The memo stated that “There is no prohibition under league rules on a team moving to any particular city.” In other words, the league doesn’t have a set policy against playing in Las Vegas. However, any move would have to get the support of 24 owners or three-fourths of the member clubs. And it’s very, very unlikely that 24 owners would vote to allow the Raiders to move to Las Vegas.
The NFL has also urged all 32 teams to stay quiet about the matter as no proposal has been made to the league. But if it was made, the offer would be considered just like any other city.
The NFL has been forever against gambling. It even refused to accept Las Vegas tourism advertising for Super Bowl telecasts and threatened to file suit against any local hotels holding Super Bowl parties. The hotels and casinos have gotten around the legal threat by referring to the Super Bowl as “The Big Game” rather than its actual name in advertising.
The NFL also cancelled the National Fantasy Football Convention, which was supposed to take place at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas adjacent to the Venetian casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that active players “may not participate in promotional activities or other appearances at or in connection with events that are held at or sponsored by casinos.”
But Las Vegas could be a good bet for Raiders with a billion-dollar stadium and an untapped market for professional sports, unless the National Hockey League chooses the city over Quebec to land an expansion team.
We’re a long way from finding out what decision the Raiders will make. First, the San Diego Chargers said that that they would not be moving to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. The Chargers have until January 2017 to decide whether they are moving with the used-to be St. Louis Rams in LA or remaining long term in San Diego.
The UNLV stadium, a project which Adelson promised to shell out $420 million, would seek $780 million in public financing. Meaning, lawmakers would need to approve the creation of the stadium.
So if you think that the NFL is standing in a way of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, they’re not…well at least not yet.
