Raiders owner Mark Davis has confirmed that he wants to move the team to Las Vegas, Nevada – and turn “the Silver State into the Silver and Black State.”
Davis was in Vegas for a meeting with city officials over the team’s possible relocation from Oakland, and upped the ante by pledging $500m towards the construction of a proposed stadium worth $1.4bn. He was joined at the meeting by billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who is spearheading the stadium project, and David Beckham, who was there to promote the stadium for soccer use. Beckham does promotional work for Adelson’s Sands Corporation.
Davis told the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, which is considering the potential bid: “We would put this on the fast track. We will be committed to you, if you are committed to us. I think we have support of some of the people in the NFL.”
Davis, who inherited the Raiders after the death of his father Al in 2011, wants the team to leave the Coliseum for a football-specific stadium, and is open to staying in the Bay Area, but said: “There has been no progress in Oakland over the last few months.” Davis told the committee that the Raiders would play the 2016 season in Oakland, but would stage at least one pre-season game at the 40,000-seat UNLV stadium in 2017 to help build the local fanbase.
The NFL has long shunned the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, refusing its TV ads and telling players not to make appearances at casinos. But Davis said he believes owners will approve the move if the stadium is built.
“If we give them an offer they can’t refuse and that’s what we’re talking about now, I don’t see a problem,” Davis said. “I hope it’s not another 50 years before the Raiders play another game in Las Vegas.” The Raiders played an exhibition game in Vegas in 1964.
Beckham, who wants an MLS franchise in Miami but has struggled to make that a reality, floated the possibility of bringing professional soccer to Las Vegas.
“To bring a great organization like the Raiders to Las Vegas is amazing, but it’s bigger than that. It’s a bigger idea, it’s about the MLS coming here, it’s about bringing the biggest European teams here like Manchester United,” Beckham said. “To be able to come here and be part of this and being able to speak this morning is a huge honor to myself.”
The Raiders have pledged $500m towards the $1.4bn project, with another $650m to come from private funds. Sands will contribute $150m, and the rest would be generated by tourism taxes.
The stadium would likely take three years to be completed. The Raiders have two one-year leases at the Coliseum that take them through 2018.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell softened on the league’s opposition to Las Vegas in recent weeks, saying it would be up to owners whether a team could be in a city that features legalized sports betting.
