Everything You Need to Know About the Raiders Move

Remember how the Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas? If you own an Oakland tie, you may not be happy with the decision. But the move was approved in 2017. And the Oakland Raiders are still the Oakland Raiders. So what actually happens when an NFL team is approved for relocation? Here’s what we know for sure.

The new Las Vegas stadium should be complete by 2020.

While construction estimates aren’t always accurate, the stadium is slated to be complete in time for the 2020 football season. So if you’re considering buying Oakland season tickets this fall, no worries. The team will probably be there for at least two more seasons.

This move has been in the works for several years.

Napoleon McCallum, a former Raiders player, approached Raiders owner Mark Davis in 2014 about moving the team to Vegas. Then, in 2015 Davis attended a secret meeting at UNLV about Las Vegas sports betting and how it could impact a pro sports team in Vegas. A year later, Davis pledged $500 million toward the construction of the new stadium.

The move is probably all about gambling.

The secret meeting between Davis, McCallum, and UNLV’s Don Synder and Bo Bernhard was at UNLV’s International Gaming Research Center and it was all about sports betting. Sports betting is legal in only four states, and Nevada is one of them. The NFL has traditionally maintained that legalizing sports betting nationally would harm the integrity of the game. But according to the stadium authority and Nevada gaming officials, nothing blocks mobile sports betting apps in the lease.

Not everyone’s happy about it.

It’s clear that Raiders Coach Jon Gruden loves Oakland. He doesn’t want to give up his Oakland tie. And there are plenty of Raiders fans that feel the same. In fact, about a thousand season tickets holders refunded their tickets, even knowing the Oakland Raiders weren’t moving anytime soon.

There’s plenty of speculation about the deal and how successful it will be. But there’s one thing we know for sure, there’s a lot of money going into this deal. A lot. The Raiders currently play in a 1960s stadium they share with the Oakland A’s and don’t get any money from the city. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas they’re offering $750 million in public funding just for the stadium. What business owner wouldn’t take that deal?

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