Raiders’ potential move to Vegas gaining traction

The last time NFL owners met in Houston, they approved the move of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

They made no such moves this week but listened to Raiders owner Mark Davis about his team’s status in Oakland, Calif., and what Las Vegas is offering.

The Raiders consistently finish as one of the bottom three teams in gross revenue, and Davis has spent years encouraging the city of Oakland to cobble together more finances.

“Oakland was in the driver’s seat, and they came up with nothing,” Davis said.

Although a move seems likely, owners want more information before signing off. Any relocation needs approval from threefourths of the 32 owners.

The process is in its infancy. Nevada approved $750 million in public funding to build a new stadium and a location on Russell Road just west of I-15 and Mandalay Bay. The team is far from taking other steps like finalizing the land deal, estimating personal seat license costs and, most crucially, proving Las Vegas can support a franchise.

Davis said relocating by 2019 “would be really quick.”

Fellow owners praised Davis for his presentation, but impending market studies, which are expected to be completed by December or January, will persuade or discourage them from approving a team in Las Vegas. This research focuses on longterm financial viability, weighing factors like how many Fortune 500 companies and corporate sponsors would invest. If the suite boxes cannot be filled in a Vegas stadium, the rest of the seats do not matter.

“It was very positive what the governor and the senate and the legislature did in improving the public support,” Texans owner Bob McNair said. “Clearly, they’re very excited about the opportunity. We’ll review it when a total package is put together and analyze it at that point.”

McNair and other owners who spoke were not concerned about the risks of gambling despite the influential support of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who has pledged more than $650 million to build a $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium. The Raiders and NFL would contribute $500 million.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reaffirmed the league’s opposition to legalized gambling on sporting events.

“There clearly has been a society shift as far as how people view gambling,” he said. “We are still very much opposed to legalized gambling on sports. We think that has an impact on the integrity of our game.”