Raiders to Las Vegas: The House always wins

The Oakland Raiders possible relocation to Las Vegas creates winners for everyone except the franchise and its’ fans. The Raiders need to stop gambling on Vegas, so they can figure out a winning situation in Oakland.

Everybody has a hot take on the Oakland Raiders’ potential relocation to Las Vegas.

New England Patriots owner Robert Craft and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones chimed in their support for an NFL franchise in Vegas.

Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seemed open to the idea until he said it was premature earlier this week.

Nonetheless, Raiders owner Mark Davis needs to stop waging his bet on a stadium in Las Vegas. No matter what, everybody wins except for the Raiders and their fans.

The Media wins

We are riding this month of the NFL to Las Vegas harder than the past few years of the NFL to LA. I say we because I am not innocent, the Raiders flirtation with Las Vegas got me some page views too.

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Again, everyone has an opinion and that includes in the media. The Raiders to Vegas makes for good headlines because it is equal parts logic and speculation. Not to mention, the Owners and NFL are actually going on the record about the subject.

The NFL wins

As a league, there are not many battles that the multi-billions organization loses.

In this case, the NFL wins because Las Vegas is a hot topic of discussion. The NBA and NHL playoffs are at their peak, but the NFL and Vegas still dominate headlines.

At the recent Spring Meetings, Las Vegas was a hot topic of discussion. Not the NFL’s litigation battle with its’ top player over deflated footballs. The NFL’s reported meddling with medical research on a disease, CTE, that the league admits is connected to football, did not grab headlines either. Instead, everyone talked about Vegas, which took some heat off the league.

Not to mention, a recent Mike Freeman report indicated that NFL owners want Davis to sell the team. If that is true, Davis’ desperation play on Las Vegas puts him that much closer to selling the team, should he fail at a getting a stadium in the desert.

Sounds like a win for the NFL and the league.

Las Vegas

Like the old gambling saying goes… The House always wins.

In this context, the City of Las Vegas is the house and they will walk away a winner.

The Mayor of Las Vegas did the media circuit, and she got her city plenty of free publicity. She does not care about the Raiders by how she threw the Chargers into the possibilities of relocation.

Plus, her city gains lots of traction on a stadium that will probably become nothing more than an MLS stadium or big-time College Football Bowl Game.

Even if Las Vegas somehow gets an NFL team, Vegas successfully completed the task in record time… take that Portland, San Antonio, and London.

Here is the latest promo video for the new dome.

Apparently, the only thing Las Vegas is missing is a sports team.

Not to mention all the perks of having a state-of-the-art NFL stadium. How about Pro Bowls or Super Bowls?

Plus, the proposed stadium is a great venue for concerts. It should bring tourism to the 40 largest TV DMA.

Then there are jobs created by building the stadium, and NFL teams actually do tons of charity work in their local communities. Hence, the Raiders would help the city grow immensely

Basically, Las Vegas cannot lose in any situation. Even if they do not get the Raiders, they’ve propelled themselves in the discussion for a pro sports team. That could mean Vegas eventually gets a team, according to MMQB, which ultimately results in a win.

The Raiders lose

Forget the concerns about market size or gambling. From a branding perspective, Las Vegas makes sense for the Raiders.

The city is close proximity to both Northern and Southern Calif. Las Vegas also has the Hollywood glamor of the Los Angeles Raiders combined with the blue-collar attitude of Oakland.

This is one of the reasons Davis believes he can turn the Silver State into the Silver and Black State. This is why Davis thinks Las Vegas will unite Raider Nation.

The $750 million in public and private funds help too. Here is a breakdown of the financing.

Even if everyone bought into the Las Vegas Raiders, do you want 53 NFL players immersed in gambling daily?

Currently, there is nothing restricting NFL players from gambling in their free time. They can not grab a Gatorade at a gas station without seeing a slot machine.

If Davis somehow gets his stadium in Las Vegas, does it really make sense for competitive athletes with cash in their pockets to live by the Las Vegas Strip?

Granted, NFL teams are already close to Casinos.

However, Vegas night clubs and casino are another beasts. Remember the infamous Adam Jones incident in a Vegas strip club?

Plus, could you imagine the Broncos and Raiders fraternizing at a Vegas pool party or blackjack table?

Not to mention, Las Vegas would become the 5th smallest market in the NFL.

The Raiders barely sold out the Coliseum for the first time in history, so it is unrealistic to expect that in Vegas.

A recent Yahoo Sports article dived into all the non-gambling challenges facing the Raiders move. It outlined exactly how unrealistic it is to expect Raiders fans to fly-in or drive-in 10 times a year.

Added, tourists are usually in town for partying and gambling. It remains to be seen if they would actually maintain interest in an NFL game.

An NFL game has not been held in Vegas for more than 50 years, so there is not a precedent.

The closest thing to a test is the NBA exhibition games, USA Basketball Showcases, and NBA Summer Leagues. Granted, all these games are meaningless but all of them have visually open seats in the intimate Thomas and Mack Center (I’ve been to all of these in Vegas).

Further, luxury seats will not carry the Raiders’ bottom-line.

A recent, Sports Illustrated article said that Casinos want tourists in the Casino gambling.

The article cited the UFL football team in Vegas which struggled selling boxes because Casinos do not want the whole town at the game on Sundays.

A recent article cited that the MGM, the largest Casino operator in Las Vegas, is already cutting costs to maximize profits. Caesars Entertainment also filed for bankruptcy recently, Plus, MGM already said a Convention Center renovation is a better investment than the stadium. Therefore, the Raiders can not count on revenue from Casinos.

So even if Davis can get a stadium approved, he will walk away a loser as his team struggles to stay focused and profitable.

Not to mention, the odds are against Davis to even get the stadium in the first place. He needs to get 24 votes from other owners. He must deal with the league’s policy on gambling.

Plus, the city would need to approve funding the largest public share of a stadium since the original RCA Dome, which will not get paid off until 2021 despite it already being obsolete. There are tons of politics around finding that funding in Vegas.

Sounds like the odds of Davis walking away from Vegas a loser, like he did from Los Angeles, are very high.

The fans lose

Do not get it twisted. Fans lose in the Raiders to Vegas scenario too.

An article in the Las Vegas Journal outlined the more than $665 cost per day for tourists coming to town on those 40-50 stadium event nights.

Not to mention, residents will carry a large part of the funding via a public subsidy.  The potential $750 million subsidies would be the largest ever for an NFL stadium.

Beyond public funding, fans will deal with the time wasted flying and driving to Las Vegas for games. It is us who will have to buy premium TV packages to catch our favorite team on Sundays. It is us who will pay the tickets to fill the arenas.

Finally, Oakland fans will lose.

Oakland fans are those people who will lose the revenue stream and community outreach, should the Raiders bounce.

Every time I go to the bay, I feel the Raiders ingrained into the heartbeat of the city. There is nothing like it.

Not to mention, the mere threat of Vegas hurts the Raiders. Head coach Jack Del Rio has already gone on record saying he does not like the talk.

The Raiders the best in years, but we are still caught up in relocation.

Simply scour a comment section or message group with Raidernation to see exactly how divided fans are because of relocation.

Create a winning situation for everyone.

Davis needs to stop waging his bet with Las Vegas and turn his efforts back towards Oakland.

All reports indicate that Davis’ first option is the Bay. The league admitted he has been fighting that battle for years. Goodell also admitted that it is everyone’s responsibility to get a deal done in Oakland.

If that is the case, everyone needs to get creative.

Rams Owner Stan Kroenke even said the Bay Area makes the most sense, because of the growth potential.

Therefore, Davis needs to find some tech money or big-money investors. The Sacramento Kings found big-money investing for their new arena.

I do not care if the investor is Ronnie Lott (who leads an investment group), Bob Iger (Disney CEO who came aboard for the Carson Proposal) or the Prince of nowhere. Just find someone to do invest in an Oakland stadium.

Even if staying in Oakland means Davis must sell his majority in the team, he should do what is best for the franchise.

Everything I’ve read about Mark Davis implies that he does care about the Raiders and the Bay. He seems like the most down-to-earth owner in Pro Sports. Unfortunately, he may not be the guy to get a stadium done in the Bay, which makes the most sense for everyone.

The NFL already said they believe in the Bay, especially with San Francisco a few miles outside the metropolis area.

Not to mention, the league awarded Davis $100 million to stay in Oakland, after his participation in the Los Angeles movement.

Therefore, Davis staying in Oakland is the only real win for everyone. Oakland keeps their bloodline. Raider nation and Mark Davis are happy because they stay in their Mecca. The league makes money like always. The media gets something to talk about. Vegas is still Vegas.

Vegas might end up as the biggest Raiders’ bluff ever. Las Vegas might become the new Los Angeles, a leverage ploy for teams searching for a new stadium. However, the Raiders are betting in a situation that they will not win.

More importantly, they are betting on a Las Vegas stadium that won’t reap benefits even if they do win.

Raiders fans are tired of losing. We are tired of seeing our team owner lose. We are tired of seeing our franchise connected to other cities.

Stop flirting with Vegas and focus on Oakland, so we can all win Mr. Davis!