First casino magnate Sheldon Adelson dropped out of the Raiders’ Las Vegas stadium plan, then investment firm Goldman Sachs bailed. Now, the proposed move to Vegas is “all but dead,” Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal (on Twitter) hears. 
This week’s events took both the Raiders and the NFL by surprise. Despite some public bickering, the Raiders were hoping that they could take their deal with Adelson to the finish line. But, if that failed, they were under the impression that Goldman Sachs would help finance the stadium instead and that’s what they told the league just a couple of weeks ago. Now, it seems that the two parties are a package deal. Adelson and the firm have a long business history together and it appears that they will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sands billionaire.
If the Vegas move is truly dead, this could theoretically help the team stay in Oakland. So far, owner Mark Davis hasn’t been keen on the proposal put forth by Ronnie Lott’s group, but he might not have a ton of options at this juncture. The Lott deal would call for Oakland to contribute 130 acres of land and absorb all related taxes. Meanwhile, the NFL would chip in $300MM with $300-$400MM from Lott’s Fortress Group. The Fortress Group could be looking for a piece of the team as a part of the transaction, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hears there could be other ways to make it all work.
Meanwhile, in Houston on Wednesday, Goodell told reporters that the league still “hasn’t made a determination yet about Las Vegas as an NFL market.” The league, he adds, continues to review the Raiders’ application.
Hard to imagine them staying in Oakland if they haven’t been able to get a deal done for a long time now. It’s gonna be interesting where they end up. Not a lot of options left. San Diego couldn’t keep the chargers so I’d have doubts about the raiders ending there. The Austin-San Antonio area would be interesting but that area could be considered part of cowboy nation. Raiders are stuck right now.
Poor raiders. Nobody wants then. The Bay is 49er territory, and Oakland residents can’t afford a stadium. Honestly, the raiders should just move to Mexico, they are already the Mexican national team, as that’s who all their fans are.
White a Raiders fan here, uh…no
Mexico City?
They will be the San Diego Raiders
Davis has his sign made: Football team needs home just build stadium for free and charge $1 a year rent. Then we will come.
All he cares about is what he can get for free. Him and Spanos are looking for handouts with no risk for them. They know the fans will follow they might be mad for a year or two but they will follow. Now Davis lost a bargaining chip and will have to go back to Oakland but he will still want everything for free.
The Raiders were chipping in $500M for the Vegas stadium. That’s not exactly free.
Just heard on the radio that SD has been talking to Davis for about a week now. Stay tuned to a possibility that the Raiders could be moved to SD by 2018. The people that want to bring a MSL team to SD, have left the option to a NFL team coming back to SD, That would include Davis and prospective owner of a MSL franchise and San Diego St. going into partnership into developing the land where the old stadium now sits. Into a 40,000 seat stadium, plus other developments on the 166 acre site with no taxpayer dollars being used.