NFL Team Owners Vote 31-1 To Approve Raiders’ Relocation To Las Vegas

NFL team owners voted to approve the Raiders’ application to move from Oakland to Las Vegas at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

NFL Team Owners approve Raiders’ move to Las Vegas

The owners voted 31-1, with only the Miami Dolphins voting against the proposal. Twenty-four votes were needed.

“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. I want to wish Mark Davis and the Raiders organization the best in Las Vegas,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told the Palm Beach Post.

The Raiders won’t immediately move to Las Vegas, since construction of their planned 65,000-seat, $1.8 billion domed stadium — which will be shared with UNLV — isn’t expected to be completed until 2020. They will play this season at the Oakland Coliseum and have a contract option to play there again in 2018. After that, they will probably need to find a temporary venue to play in until their new stadium just off the Las Vegas strip is built.

Once they relocate, it will mark the franchise’s third move since its founding in 1960. The Raiders previously played in Los Angeles before they moved to the Oakland Coliseum.

On Friday, Oakland and Alameda County officials made a last-minute attempt to convince NFL owners that they indeed had a realistic stadium plan for the Raiders. In a letter to the league, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf outlined a proposal for a $1.3 billion stadium plan in Oakland that would include public financing.

To respond to Schaaf, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter that the plan “does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable time frame, and free of major contingencies.” He added: “All of these efforts, ours and yours, have not yet identified a viable solution” toward keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

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

Two other NFL teams have relocated in the past 14 months. The Rams moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles last year and in January, the Chargers announced their decision to move from San Diego to L.A.

After no viable stadium deals were reached in Oakland, Las Vegas emerged as the Raiders’ strongest possible destination after Nevada lawmakers approved $750 million in public funding for a new stadium. The Raiders and the NFL will provide $500 million toward stadium construction and Bank of America will contribute additional funding. Bank of America stepped in after Goldman Sachs and Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson withdrew as investors in January.

The team had been seeking a new stadium since February 2015, when they announced a joint project with the Chargers to build a stadium in the L.A. suburb of Carson. NFL owners, however, voted in favor of the Rams’ Inglewood stadium project in January 2016 and gave the Raiders the potential option of relocating to L.A. if the Chargers decided not to move north.

Two weeks later, Davis met with Adelson to discuss the possibility of the Raiders playing in a proposed stadium in Sin City. By April 2016, Davis publicly stated his desire to move to Las Vegas if the city was in agreement for this move.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval finalized public funding for the stadium in October.

The Raiders are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2002 after posting a 12-4 record and finishing second in the AFC West. The team has won three Super Bowl titles and an AFL title in its 57-year history.

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.”

KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 8: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium during the first quarter of the game on December 8, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena