Raiders Owner Mark Davis said that the team is "on the verge of selling out their season tickets for the first time in franchise history," and could also be in line "to have a waiting list for season tickets for the first time." according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. Davis: "We're excited as hell." But Gutierrez noted Davis has toured Las Vegas "as a potential new home for the franchise." Momentum is "growing in Las Vegas," and Davis on Thursday is "reportedly scheduled to attend a meeting of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee." Back in Oakland, "excitement is growing for a team that improved to seven wins from three a year ago." Raiders President Marc Badain said that the team "has grown its season ticket fan base" from 30,000 in '13 to 37,000 in '14 to 42,200 last year to "just under 50,000 so far this offseason" (ESPN.com, 4/24).
RED OR BLACK? THE MMQB's Peter King writes the Raiders “are serious” about exploring a new stadium in Las Vegas, and the city is “serious about the Raiders.” While the Raiders “belong in northern California,” the NFL “should not stand in the way of a franchise playing in Nevada if it makes financial sense.” King: “It’s always seemed a strawman argument to me about the NFL not doing business where there is legal sports gambling, with the fear that players could become associated with gamblers. Well, there are gamblers everywhere. And they can get their hooks into players in every NFL market right now. Playing in Vegas, to me, would not jeopardize the integrity of football. At all” (MMQB.SI.com, 4/25).
