Las Vegas Raiders?

The Oakland Raiders are looking for possible places to move after they were shut out of Los Angeles. Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders, is scouting other cites. He has been in communication with San Antonio officials if they can’t stay in Oakland. Another option is moving to San Diego if the Chargers leave and head to L.A. This past weekend Mark Davis explored Las Vegas. Is this really a place for the Raiders to move to?

The Raiders need a home for next season. Their lease runs out next month.  According to Yahoosports.com, Davis went to Las Vegas to meet with Sands Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson. He wants to build a 65,000 seat stadium on the UNLV campus. It would cost $1 billion. Las Vegas makes sense. It isn’t that far from California. The Raiders are one of the closest teams to Las Vegas. They wouldn’t have trouble selling out games. Games wouldn’t be blacked out.

There are few problems with the Raiders moving. The first is that professional leagues tend to stay away from expansion in Las Vegas because of their legal gambling.   It seems like the league owners are changing their stance in recent years. The other is the NFL rules. There hasn’t been a formal proposal made to the NFL owners. Once that occurs, they can apply for relocation. According to ESPN, three fourths of the league’s owners have to approve the move. This is still an ongoing process.

The move to Las Vegas sounds great on paper because the city would receive a professional football team.   The downside is that Oakland would see the Raiders leave again. The best spot for them is to stay in northern California. They could share Levi’s Stadium with the San Francisco 49ers. It would be the best solution because the stadium is already built and it isn’t far for the Raiders’ fans. Mark Davis would need to obtain a lease. The 49ers and the Raiders could share the venue.

Where should the Oakland Raiders end up?