Raiders File Paperwork to Move to Las Vegas

As expected, the Oakland Raiders have officially filed the paperwork in order to facilitate a move to Las Vegas on Thursday.

The Raiders’ move needs to be approved by at least 75 percent of the league’s owners in order to get the go-ahead to relocate. The team faced a deadline to file the paperwork of February 15^th.

The New Stadium

If the move is approved, the Raiders are going to go ahead and built a 65,000 seat domed stadium that is expected to cost about $1.9 billion. $650 million of that will come from billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, $500 million will come straight from the Raiders and the NFL while $750 million will be raised in local hotel tax revenue.

Clark County Commission chairman Steve Sisolak made this comment to The Associated Press: “I am happy to see the process moving forward, and greatly appreciate the commitment of the Raiders and work of the Adelson family to the hope of making Las Vegas the home of the Raiders.”

Another Team On the Move?

If the move is approved, the Raiders would be the third NFL team to change locations within the last year. The St. Louis Rams moved to Los Angeles prior to last season, while the San Diego Chargers decided to join the Rams in L.A. just last week.

Raiders owner Mark Davis met with the NFL’s stadium and finance committee in New York last week to discuss his plans for relocation to Las Vegas. If the move happens, the Raiders will be the first major professional team to take residence in Sin City.

Relocation is nothing new to the Raiders. The franchise was founded in Oakland in 1960 where they stayed for 21 seasons before moving to Los Angeles. The team would stay in L.A. for over a decade before returning to Oakland in 1995.

What About Oakland?

There has been very little momentum toward a stadium resolution in Oakland. The Raiders currently share the outdated o.Co Coliseum with Major League Baseball’s Athletics. A potential Raiders departure would leave the A’s as Oakland’s only major professional sports franchise within the matter of a few years.

On Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors, who currently play at neighboring Oracle Arena, broke ground on a new stadium across the bay in San Francisco.

On the Field

The Raiders are coming off of their most successful season in over a decade. They finished 12-4 and earned a Wild Card spot out of the AFC West. Without starting quarterback Derek Carr, however, they were beaten 27-14 by the Houston Texans in the first round of the playoffs.

It was the Raiders’ first appearance in the postseason since losing the Super Bowl at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2003.