The Raiders are Las Vegas-bound.
By a 31-1 vote Monday, NFL owners approved the Raiders' plan to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas, where the club intends to build a $1.6 billion stadium to open in 2020. The plan calls for the Raiders to remain in Oakland while their new stadium is being constructed.
The decision paves the way for the league's third relocation in 14 months, and comes on the heels of the Rams and Chargers moving to Los Angeles.
In February, the Raiders appeared to suffer a devastating setback when casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson and investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, who originally were heavily involved with the financing of the project, backed away from the plan. But earlier this month, the Raiders revealed that Bank of America had stepped in and is ready to bankroll the stadium. That was a significant comeback for the Raiders and the NFL, considering Nevada's Legislature had green-lighted $750 million last fall for the project by way of an increased hotel tax.
Peter King of TheMMQB.com notes there is a synchronicity to this relocation. The late Al Davis spent 22 years in Oakland before moving to Los Angeles in 1982 when he couldn't get a satisfactory stadium deal done. The Raiders, now owned by Al's son, Mark, moved back to Oakland in 1995, have been there 22 years, and now are moving for stadium reasons.
