Five different thoughts regarding the Oakland Raiders approved relocation to Las Vegas.
The Oakland Raiders shook up the sports world with their 31 to 1 approval to relocate to Las Vegas. There is a lot to consider with news as big as this, and many different angles to look at.
Let’s take a look at four different aspects of the upcoming move.
Public Money
When the idea of a potential relocation to Las Vegas was first pitched roughly 14 months ago, many were quick to brush it off as nothing more than another leverage ploy by Mark Davis. But when funding by way of $750 million was approved, this idea was no longer a pipe dream. Vegas was now a serious threat to Oakland.
And that’s really what this comes down to. There were countless debates from beginning to end — market size, gambling, lack of a built-in fan base and others — but at the end of the day, Vegas ponied up a boatload of cash, and Oakland did not.
If we’ve learned anything from the NFL, it’s that the Owners (most of whom are worth over one billion) love handouts. And the handout that Vegas brought to the table was more than any other sports team in history has received. With the city of Oakland unable/unwilling to do anything in the same ballpark, the league nearly unanimously voted to take the handout that was served on a golden platter.
So no matter what other factors were in play, such as the aforementioned reasons and several others, none of them meant more to the league than that $750 million. Plus another $200 million in infrastructure costs.
In taking the money, the NFL sent a message that registered loud and clear with current and future NFL cities. For cities that currently host NFL teams and will be in the market for a new stadium at some point in the near future, the message is that if you don’t put up money to help, the NFL will take their business elsewhere. The message sent to cities that hope to one day have an NFL team is that if you follow the path Las Vegas just took, your chances of landing a team increase ten fold.