Mark Davis wants to take the Oakland Raiders to Sin City for good.
The Raiders owner on Thursday pledged to spend $500 million to facilitate his team’s relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, according to The Associated Press. Davis told the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee he’d love for the Raiders to play in a proposed domed stadium in Las Vegas and would try to convince other NFL owners to back his relocation idea, which seemed far-fetched when it was floated just a few months ago.
“We need a home,” Davis said. “We need a stadium. That’s what Las Vegas is going to provide us and it’s going to be a great marriage.”
The new 65,000-seat Las Vegas stadium would cost around $1.4 billion to construct. Davis would use a loan of $200 million from the NFL’s stadium-project fund and provide the other $300 million. Las Vegas and other private interests presumably would be responsible for raising the other $750 million.
The Raiders currently play at O.co Coliseum, but Davis would like to move the team from the outdated facility by 2020.
The Raiders applied for relocation to Los Angeles last year, but owners voted in favor of the former St. Louis Rams’ bid and offered the San Diego Chargers the opportunity to follow them next year, instead. The Raiders have an option of moving to Los Angeles if the Chargers decline, but Davis now has cast his eyes east toward Las Vegas.
“We’re not using Las Vegas as a bargaining chip,” Davis said. “This is real.”
Davis would need the support of 23 other owners in order to realize his Las Vegas dream.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
