A third NFL team in a year might be on the move. Following in the steps of the Rams and Chargers, the Raiders are set to file relocation papers to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Long anticipated as a distinct possibility, the move will become official in the coming days once the Raiders file relocation papers, Rapoport indicated. Still uncertain is the exact financing mechanism for a new stadium, estimated at $1.9 billion. Initial plans had indicated that the Raiders would contribute $500 million, the family of casino owner Sheldon Adelson would kick in $650 million, and a hotel tax in Clark County would add $750 million. The status of that particular agreement remains in flux.
The move would require the approval of 24 owners, most likely at the owners’ meetings in March. If approved, Rapoport writes, the Raiders would continue to play in Oakland as a lame-duck team while a stadium is being built in Las Vegas.
This isn’t the first, or even second, time the Raiders have moved. The team moved from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, and back to Oakland in 1995. In addition, Las Vegas would become the first new city to host an NFL team since Nashville welcomed the Oilers-turned-Titans in 1998.