Sometime in the first half of the day on Monday, the Oakland Raiders are expected to receive approval to relocate to Las Vegas.
After years of uncertainty surrounding where the Oakland Raiders will be playing their home games on a long-term basis, judgement day is finally here.
Roughly sometime between 10:00am to 12:00pm PST, NFL Owners are expected to vote on Mark Davis’ proposal to relocate the team to Las Vegas. And barring a miracle (for Oakland), the expectation is that Davis will receive the votes necessary (at least 24) to gain approval, and the Oakland Raiders will become the Las Vegas Raiders.
This process has been a long time coming — for the franchise, for Mark Davis, for the coaches, for the players, and for the fans. For some, the process simply being over will be their biggest joy of this entire situation. For some, the team finding a new stadium, regardless of location, is good enough for them. And for some, the team leaving the city they’ve called home for a total of 44 seasons is an unforgivable betrayal.
There are plenty who fall somewhere in-between, of course, and when the votes officially come out, all of that emotion is going to spill over into social media, into disapproving protests, and into celebratory rallies. One way or another, judgement day is going to be quite a day.
Jerry Jones promised that Monday is going to be “an exciting day for Vegas”, which puts the proverbial nail in the coffin. Robert Kraft called the potential move “great”, which hammers said proverbial nail into that coffin.
In a weird way, it’s hard to believe that what seemed liked a never-ending story is actually coming to an end.
When the idea to relocate to Las Vegas first was reported, most were quick to dismiss it as just another leverage ploy by Mark Davis, and something the NFL would never, ever consider. The league, which has strongly held an anti-gambling (and even anti-fantasy football) stance, was about to have a team in the gambling capital of the United States? No chance.
But roughly 14 months after the idea was born, here we are.
The NFL still hasn’t changed their stance on gambling — in fact, if the Raiders were to appear in the Super Bowl while calling Las Vegas their home, the city may not even be allowed to take bets on the game. Think about that — it’s possible that the marquee event of the most popular sport in the nation could be pulled from sports books if the team that plays in that city is one of the teams playing in the game.
But $750 million in public funding carries a lot of weight. And actually, recent reports say that Vegas might actually be on the hook for an additional $200 million in infrastructure costs, on top of that $750 million.
That makes $950 million in public contribution. And to top it off, the latest estimate for the cost of the stadium was lowered to $1.7 billion. So more than 50 percent of this stadium is being paid for with public money.
So when Libby Schaaf and the Fortress Investment Group submitted a revised proposal, it still wasn’t close to what’s on the table in Vegas. And thus, the league dismissed it in roughly the same amount of time as it takes for John Ross to run a 40-yard dash.
Sure, the investment group offered to match the loan being offered by Bank of America, and on the surface, that sounds like a grand idea. But with only a couple of seconds left on the clock, it’s too easy for the NFL to say “thanks but no thanks” and take the more lucrative offer. The offer that costs them less money, and the offer that nets them a relocation fee in the range of $325 to $375 million.
There is a lot of blame that is going to be passed around in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. Mark Davis says to blame him, and that’s where most fans (who wanted the team to stay in Oakland) will point their fingers. Just as that’s where most fans (who wanted the team to move) will give credit.
Credit, for even when the deal with Sheldon Adelson fell apart, to quickly put together a Plan B. To continue forward even when the deal seemed to be dead in the water, and to earn the approval of his peers, despite years of the opposite being the case. And at the same time, for the same reasons, resentment — because Mark tried so hard to get this done in Vegas, and never gave anything close to that same effort in Oakland.
Blame will be placed on Libby Schaaf, for being in charge when a team that has been the heartbeat of the city for so long leaves town. And to some, she’ll receive credit, for not folding and giving into pressure, remaining steadfast in her stance to not use taxpayer money to help a man worth hundreds of millions and a league worth several billions.
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There’s a lot more that can be (and will be) said on this topic, but most of it is a moot point right now. The only thing that’s really relevant is what is going to happen in that conference room the first half of the day on Monday. Judgement Day.