NFL owners approve Raiders move to Las Vegas 31-1

[mikecubs]

Owners vote 31-1 to OK Raiders move; Dolphins vote against

The Oakland Raiders will move to Las Vegas after garnering enough votes from NFL owners on Monday to relocate to Southern Nevada.

The Raiders received 31 of 32 votes to approve the move. Twenty-four votes were needed. The Miami Dolphins were the only team to vote against the move.

"My position today was that we as owners and as a league owe it to the fans to do everything we can to stay in the communities that have supported us until all options have been exhausted. I want to wish Mark Davis and the Raiders organization the best in Las Vegas," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement.

The Raiders will still play in Oakland in 2017, and possibly longer.

With a 65,000-seat domed stadium that will cost $1.9 billion to be shared with UNLV not expected to open until 2020, Raiders owner Mark Davis has told ESPN he plans on staying in Oakland the next two seasons. The team holds a pair of one-year options at the Oakland Coliseum.

"My father always said, 'the greatness of the Raiders is in its future,' and the opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is a significant step toward achieving that greatness," Davis said in a statement. "I would like to thank Commissioner [Roger] Goodell, the National Football League and my 31 partners. I would also like to thank Governor Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Legislature for their commitment. Finally, I would like to thank Sheldon Adelson for his vision and leadership, without which this project never would have become a reality."

Davis continued: "The Raiders were born in Oakland and Oakland will always be part of our DNA. We know that some fans will be disappointed and even angry, but we hope that they do not direct that frustration to the players, coaches and staff. We plan to play at the Coliseum in 2017 and 2018, and hope to stay there as the Oakland Raiders until the new stadium opens. We would love nothing more than to bring a championship back to the Bay Area."

The Raiders would presumably then have to find a place to play in 2019. Davis has all but ruled out using UNLV's current home, 35,500-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, about 9 miles southeast of campus, due to outdated locker rooms and the lack of a proper security border around the facility. The Raiders could conceivably play one preseason game a year at Sam Boyd Stadium before moving to Las Vegas permanently.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr tweeted that the news leaves him with mixed emotions.

Coach Jack Del Rio also said his feelings were mixed.

"My emotions are mixed. While I'm sad for family, friends and fans in the Oak area I also recognize the tremendous opportunity going forward for our organization," he told ESPN's Ed Werder in a text message. "That being said, my mission remains the same. To lead this team here and now. Players and coaches need to understand their defined roles. We all need to bring positive energy everyday as we focus on things that we control."

Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf made a last-ditch effort to retain the Raiders on Monday, after being told by Goodell in a letter on Friday that the city's proposal was not a "viable solution." In another letter delivered to owners Monday morning, she asked them to delay the vote in order to give Oakland a chance to negotiate with a small group of owners to complete a stadium deal at the Coliseum site. She also requested a secret ballot on the vote.

"I am disappointed that the Raiders and the NFL chose Las Vegas over Oakland when we had a fully-financed, shovel-ready stadium project that would have kept the Raiders in Oakland where they were born and raised," Schaaf said in a statement following the NFL owners' vote.

"I am proud that we stood firm in refusing to use public money to subsidize stadium construction and that we did not capitulate to their unreasonable and unnecessary demand that we choose between our football and baseball franchises.

"As a lifelong Oaklander, my heart aches today for the Raider Nation. These are the most committed and passionate fans any city or team could hope to have. They deserved better."

The Raiders are the only NFL team to share a stadium with a Major League Baseball franchise (the Athletics).

"We understand the Raiders' need for a new stadium. Oakland is an incredible sports town and we would be sorry to see them leave," the A's said in a statement. "We commend the city's and county's efforts to keep the Raiders in Oakland. The Mayor and her team have worked incredibly hard to save the franchise. We are focused on, and excited about, our efforts to build a new ballpark in Oakland and look forward to announcing a location this year."

Davis had turned his focus to Las Vegas in April 2016, telling ESPN at the time he had tried for eight years to get a deal done in Oakland.

"Individually, they're great people," Davis said of Oakland city, Alameda County and Joint Powers Authority legislators. "But you get two or more of them in a room, total dysfunction."

The Raiders have committed $500 million toward the project, with another $750 million coming in the form of a hotel tax passed by the Nevada Legislature in October. The team has informed the NFL that Bank of America is also helping to finance the deal after casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew his $650 million pledge in late January, essentially saying the Raiders dealt with him in bad faith. It will be the third time in franchise history the Raiders will move. In 1982 the team relocated to Los Angeles before returning to Oakland in 1995.

The Raiders received congratulations from the NHL's Golden Knights, the expansion franchise that begins play in Las Vegas starting in 2017-18.


"On behalf of the entire Vegas Golden Knights family, I would like to welcome and congratulate Mark Davis and the Oakland Raiders on their relocation to the great city of Las Vegas," Golden Knights chairman and CEO Bill Foley said in a statement. "It truly is an exciting time to be from Las Vegas. There is only a select group of cities in North America that are home to both an NHL and an NFL franchise and Vegas is now one of them. This alone should be a great source of pride for our community and our fans. Las Vegas has always been one of the most popular destination cities in the world and it is now emerging as a premier location for major league professional sports."

The Raiders become the third team in the past two years to be granted approval to relocate. Previously, both the Rams and Chargers were allowed to relocate to Los Angeles from St. Louis and San Diego, respectively.

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19016323/raiders-move-las-vegas-approved-31-1

[mikecubs]

This still isn't quite 100% official. The Raiders need to finish their lease up in the next month or so.

The Raiders did offer refunds today to Oakland fans for season tickets for next season.

[mikecubs]

Some interesting comment from posters of HF boards(read the entire thread if you get a chance):

-This absolutely hurts the Knights, only question is if the market is big enough to support two pro teams or not. A market only has so much disposable income and corporate sponsorship dollars, so while the overlap between the NFL and NHL obviously isn't 100%, the overlap is there and assuredly profound for an NHL team.

Couple that with the fact that they overpaid for the expansion team and were already on shaky grounds on the notion of actually drawing a profit, and this could hurt them big time.

Good news is that they have a couple years to themselves, but the clock's ticking. Only a matter of time before the juggernaut comes in, so hopefully they actually become relevant by then. New team smell won't survive the arrival of an NFL team. Best case scenario, they do well and the market is big enough that the Raiders impact doesn't cut into the Knights by too much


-Until 30 minutes ago, both the public and corporate dollars had an entertainment budget decision that did not include the Raiders. It was a combination of gambling/shows/concerts/golf/Golden Knights/etc.

Every budget now has the consideration of the Raiders, and despite the 2 year wait, that waiting period question does exist. The entertainment budget of everything in Vegas now includes the support of a bad hockey team for 2 years, or save that money for a better product in 2 years. I know plenty who save up a whole year by not going out. Its worth it though for those 3 awesome weeks on vacation in Europe or elsewhere after a year of saving. People defer entertainment, and this variable exists now.

An NHL/NFL team can coexist, but I dont buy the more core NHL-apologists who say this has 0 effect.

-From an outside look, it does feel (to me anyway) that the other 29 owners () do not care if Foley has more competition with NFL or not. They got their share of the pot and now it's up to Foley to do its magic.

Potentially, both teams could succeed very well in LV, but it would have been better to get a year or two of exclusivity before having a need to compete.

If anything, people who are undecided which ST to buy, they could have bought NHL ST and lived it for a year or two, giving Foley an upper hand in working during those two years on retention. Now he has to work on retaining potential ST holders who suddenly have a choice and will try to get the best value for their buck.

-..oh boy, bettman is probably ready to kill someone after hearing that the move is basically going to happen. thought he had the whole LV market to himself and just a few months later here comes the NFL
... which wouldnt have been so bad but for the obscene price they charged Foley, more than double what a franchise is actually worth in that market. This was a flat~out vanity purchase, the League knew it, played on it, made out like Bandits and now the fox is in the henhouse. Had they considered any & all possibilities as any prudent general or businessman would have done, put together a reasonable graduated expansion fee structure based on market size and other factors, understood that all markets are not equal and its just beyond dumb to saddle incoming ownership with massive debt & costs, created a buffer with reasonable entry fee's "just in case" for a contingency like this one then it wouldnt be quite so disconcerting... concerning. Just unreal. No critical thought whatsoever.... Seriously. Theyve been taken by complete & utter surprise, totally outflanked by Superpower NFL. Already fighting an uphill battle. Now this?

-Well the 50 mill. lessens the blow, but it gets in the way of their fantasy of growing the game in the US to the level of the other 3 leagues. And plus it places another obstacle in the way of another Southern franchise - especially a market that's truly untested with regards to having any teams from the NHL,NFL, NBA or MLB. LV is a gamble and you want to give it as big a chance possible to succeed - and with an NFL team there it makes it tougher.

-What's interesting is that a few months before the process got finalised, but but at the point where everyone knew NHL was going to LV, Bettman was on Bob McCowns show. I will listen to these interviews with a grain of salt, but will still try to read whats being said. Whats interesting is that Bettman said (im paraphrasing) "if we do go to Vegas, we will be the last team in Vegas, in a market like this"

I go back and wonder about that clip, and wonder if he truly felt that? Im not sure how much talking happens amongst the leagues, but I truly wonder if the NHL had any idea as to what would happen once they were the first domino to fall?

And no doubt about it, but the Raiders are starting out the much cooler branding, and with the proper use of the city's name.

[mikecubs]

So now we have the following problems in the NHL.

1. The Coyote mess. Poor market, not big enough for 4 teams when you consider everything, massive losses etc... If a new arena is built you still need a massive illegal arena management fee plus you won't draw concerts with 2 other modern arenas.

2. The Islander mess. They may be kicked out of Barclays. There is ZERO evidence they have any fans.

3. The Hurricanes mess. Not as bad as one or 2 but Bettman is allowing Karmanos to kill/poison the market with an insane sales price request

4. The Panthers mess. The market sucks and there is a chance they could be kicked out of their arena long term

5. A possible Vegas mess. The Chicago Cubs of the NFL are coming. The Raiders are set up to win multiple super bowls(See David Carr, Armani Cooper, Khali Mack). When 40 year old Tom Brady retires they are the leagues best team. I predict of 2020 super bowl win in their 1st season for the Las Vegas Raiders.

6. Not a mess yet but Seattle is going to be a failure in a renovated Key Arena. Poor location, the renovation will be lip stick on a pig. The other problem is it will be 100% privately financed. Total disaster.

7. Calgary. A 1983 joke of a building. Other than MSG(1968) Calgary will be the only pre-90s arena left in the NHL or NBA. The Garden underwent a 1B renovation. The mayor won't cave in because Quebec is the only comparable market to use as leverage and Bettman is anti-Quebec so unless the mayor out of the goodness or his heart changes his mind the Flames are stuck unless they 100% privately finance it.

What a freaking mess!!!!!!!!!

[mikecubs]

The Golden Knights may not even get a 2-3 year head start now.

Joe Arrigo‏ @joearrigo 10h10 hours ago
More
Larry Reid, Oak City Counsel member, insinuates that he is having city attorneys & JPA look into the lease to remove #Raiders from Oak on 17

[mikecubs]

Las Vegas’ NHL team owner conflicted on Raiders move

Las Vegas became a two-sport major league town Monday and the Vegas Golden Knights owner seems a bit perturbed by that.

Bill Foley, who laid down a $500 million fee to the NHL to create an expansion team in Sin City and is privately funding the Golden Knights’ stadium, publicly congratulated Raiders owner Mark Davis on that team’s approved relocation. Then Foley questioned the move on the radio program Vegas Hockey Hotline with Brian Blessing.

“I felt like there were a lot better ways to spend $750 million than bringing the Raiders to Las Vegas,” said Foley, the Golden Knights chairman and CEO. “We could spend it on police, firefighters and teachers and have them all be the best in the country. But I guess we’re going to spend it on the Raiders. … If I had complete control of the situation, I would not have opted to have the Raiders come here. But I didn’t, so I welcome them.”

Foley did indeed welcome the Raiders in a statement released earlier Monday.

“On behalf of the entire Vegas Golden Knights family, I would like to welcome and congratulate Mark Davis and the Oakland Raiders on their relocation to the great city of Las Vegas,” Foley said. “It truly is an exciting time to be from Las Vegas. There is only a select group of cities in North America that are home to both an NHL and an NFL franchise and Vegas is now one of them. This alone should be a great source of pride for our community and our fans. Las Vegas has always been one of the most popular destination cities in the world and it is now emerging as a premier location for major league professional sports.”

www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/29/las-vegas-nhl-team-owner-would-prefer-raiders-stay-in-oakland/

[mikecubs]

Raiders close purchase on 62-acre stadium site in Las Vegas


The Oakland Raiders have closed on the purchase of 62 acres west of the Mandalay Bay resort clearing a hurdle in the team’s bid to relocate to Las Vegas and build a stadium in time for the 2020 NFL season.
Terms of the deal were not immediately available.
The purchase price listed in documents posted Monday morning in the Clark County Recorder’s Office is $77.5 million.

The land — four parcels between Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue and between Polaris Avenue and Dean Martin Drive — is just west of Interstate 15.
The Raiders have had an option to buy the four parcels that include 29.2 acres on the south portion, 26.51 acres on the north portion, a 4.16-acre lot on the northwest corner and a 2.71-acre lot on the northeast corner. The unoccupied land had a listed value of $40 million.

www.reviewjournal.com/sports/raiders-nfl/raiders-close-purchase-on-62-acre-stadium-site-in-las-vegas/

[mikecubs]

Unanimous vote avoids delays for Raiders' move to Las Vegas in 2020

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Thursday unanimously approved a conditional lease agreement for the Oakland Raiders, helping avoid any possible delays on the team's relocation.

Raiders president Marc Badain had recently warned that appearing at next week's NFL owners meetings without a lease in hand could delay the Raiders' Southern Nevada debut by a year, since the next opportunity to present a lease would not be until October. The Raiders are hoping to break ground on the $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium with natural grass this summer.

"It means we go to the league meetings in Chicago with a lease and hopefully get it approved and stay on pace for a 2020 opening," Badain told ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon.

While the approval was not necessarily in doubt, the approval paves the way for NFL owners to vote on ratifying the lease at their spring meetings, which begin Monday.

The league owners approved the team's relocation during their gathering in March by a 31-1 vote, the Miami Dolphins the lone dissenting vote, though owners did want to see a lease agreement, design plans and FAA approval. The Raiders have identified a 62-acre plot of land on Russell Road, west of Interstate 15 and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the south end of Las Vegas.

The Raiders will share the stadium with UNLV's football team, which plays in the Mountain West but has designs on eventually moving into a Power 5 conference.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the approved lease "offers the Raiders and their designated events company more confidentiality for their financial information during required audits."

Also, the Sun reported, the lease "gives the team discretion to relocate certain utilities on the stadium site as needed and agreed to by the authority and the holder of the utility."

Gaming was also listed as being a prohibited use for the stadium, per the report, "going so far as to list specific card games that cannot be conducted at the facility."

The Raiders, who have two one-year leases at the Oakland Coliseum, plan on playing in Northern California in 2017 and 2018 but have yet to establish a home for 2019. Raiders owner Mark Davis does not want to move to Las Vegas until the dome is complete, in 2020, and has said he does not want to play at UNLV's current home, 35,500-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, some nine miles from the campus on the eastern edge of the city, on a temporary basis.

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19413385/las-vegas-stadium-authority-approves-lease-agreement-oakland-raiders

[Deleted]

May 19, 2017 0:45:42 GMT -6 mikecubs said:

The Raiders, who have two one-year leases at the Oakland Coliseum, plan on playing in Northern California in 2017 and 2018 but have yet to establish a home for 2019. Raiders owner Mark Davis does not want to move to Las Vegas until the dome is complete, in 2020, and has said he does not want to play at UNLV's current home, 35,500-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, some nine miles from the campus on the eastern edge of the city, on a temporary basis.

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19413385/las-vegas-stadium-authority-approves-lease-agreement-oakland-raiders

Has the NFL not learned anything from the Houston Oilers debacle 20 years ago? Nobody in Northern California is going to come out to games to see a lame duck team that will be gone in a couple of years. They may as well play somewhere in Las Vegas. Attendance will drop below 20,000 just like it did when the Houston Oilers announced a move to Tennesse in the 90s. Has there ever been a case of local fans supporting a team that will leave in a season or two? When the Carolina Hurricanes had to spend two years in Greensboro, they drew flies. Even the Jets only managed to average 11,400 fans in their last year, when fans knew the team would be leaving.

I hope Oakland is prepared for all the sea of empty seats that will remain unsold, until the team departs for Nevada.

[mikecubs]

Mark Davis offered to refund all fans their tickets next season if they wanted. So far according to him very few have taken him up on the offer. The idea of the Raiders isn't that they represent a city. Raiders is more of a life style(being a pirate/outcast). You are right there has never been a case of a lame duck doing well(you can throw in Seattle last year in the NBA, Montreal in MLB and the Jets 1.0 last year). Keep in mind the Raiders will play 1 home game in Mexico this year against New England and I'm 100% certain that the following year they will have 1 foreign home game.

The only option in Vegas is 35,500 seat Sam Boyd Stadium with no luxury amenities.

Lots of Oakland area fans are going to follow the team after they move to Vegas/go to games/take cheap flights since it's relatively close. The Raiders since they moved back to Oakland has only drawn 53,000ish which is god awful(NFL teams always average at least 60,000 except a few rare cases). They had to close Mount Davis the last few years reducing capacity to 53,000. The Raiders lost a lot of Bay area fans with the LA move/the 49ers winning 5 super bowls while they were gone. The fans they do have are die hards, many of whom don't care what city the represent.