The Raiders may pull up stakes in Alameda earlier than planned.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Saturday night the club would hold its mandatory minicamp in Las Vegas.
Gruden, attending the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight title bout at the MGM Grand, said in an interview, "If we can let everyone in, we will."
The mandatory minicamp June 16-18 is the final time the Raiders will be together as a team before adjourning until training camp begins in Napa in late July. After closing training camp in Napa, the Raiders will take up residence for good in Nevada.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Gruden said the off-season plan was for the Raiders to remain in their current location until training camp begins and then move the football operation to Las Vegas following training camp.
The Raiders have made no announcements however, and as one source said, "Hopefully the facility will be done." The club is optimistic the Henderson, Nevada, facility will be ready. It's unclear whether the Raiders would seek an alternate site in the Las Vegas area or remain in Alameda for the mandatory camp if it's not ready to go.
The 323,000-foot club headquarters in Henderson will include an indoor football field. Temperatures historically in mid-June in Las Vegas are between 96 and 97 degrees.
Having the mandatory camp in Nevada would enable the Raiders a run-up headed into the regular season in Allegiant Stadium with an as-yet-to-be-determined level of fan involvement.
The Raiders are expected to hold the off-season program, organized team activities (OTAs) and voluntary minicamps in Alameda, as well as being the base of football operations for the NFL draft.
