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The Oakland Raiders have filed for relocation to Las Vegas, according to Steve Sisolak, a commissioner in Clark County, Nevada. The Raiders have been trying to find a new home for years with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum now over 50 years old. The stadium, which was built in 1966, has housed both the Raiders and the MLB’s Oakland Athletics.
What makes Las Vegas an appealing destination for the Raiders is the $750 million of previously approved public money going toward a new stadium in the city, which will pay for the costs of hosting the team.
Via NFL:
It is the first formal step in a relocation process that won’t become official until the Raiders receive 24 votes from NFL’s owners to formally make the move, a vote that will come this spring.
The Raiders had until Feb. 24 to file relocation papers. NFL owners expected to vote on the team’s relocation proposal at Annual League Meeting in March, per Rapoport.
If the Raiders are given the green light to move from NFL owners, they would likely play at least the next two years in Oakland before relocating to their new stadium in Las Vegas for the 2020 season.
In accordance with NFL rules, the Raiders were required to wait until the end of their season to apply for relocation, which must be approved by at least 75% of the NFL’s 32 owners.
According to NFL.com, sources told insider Ian Rappaport that Oakland has made no progress to keep the team and it has not come up with a stadium proposal that league or independent sources believe is credible.
The proposal comes just a week after the San Diego Chargers officially moved to Los Angeles and a year after the Rams moved back to L.A. from St. Louis.
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