Raiders Owner Mark Davis said that his trip to Houston for the Super Bowl this week has "zero to do with attempting to persuade fellow NFL owners to vote for franchise relocation to Las Vegas," according to Jon Mark Saraceno of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Davis: "I have a couple of (functions) I need to go to but, other than that, I don’t know anything about anything." However, another Raiders exec said, "It’s not like (NFL owners convening in Houston) are going to want to talk about anything else with us. We’ll have a lot of conversations (about the relocation effort). That’s essentially what this trip is about." Davis said that he will arrive in Houston either Wednesday or Thursday. Davis: "Nothing has changed. We filed for relocation. We know we have the (NFL annual) meeting in March (in Phoenix)" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/30). In Las Vegas, Velotta & Anderson noted several state and county lawmakers Friday "questioned demands laid out" by the Raiders in a "proposed lease for a planned 65,000-seat stadium in Las Vegas." Two Clark County commissioners said that they were "surprised by a proposal for the Raiders to pay $1 a year in rent to use the stadium." Some state legislators joined Las Vegas Bowl Exec Dir John Saccenti in "questioning the Raiders’ proposals to control scheduling and field markings at the stadium." However, Las Vegas Stadium Authority Chair Steve Hill said that the public "shouldn’t overreact to the terms of the proposed lease the Raiders delivered to the authority on Thursday." He said that the proposal "represents a starting point and authority board members would dissect the contract paragraph by paragraph in future meetings." Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak said that he "learned about the $1 rent proposal by reading the newspaper." Clark County Commissioner of District E Chris Giunchigliani said, "I'm shocked. How arrogant is that? They're a for profit company" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/28).
NOT QUITE A DONE DEAL: ESPN’s Joe Banner noted the "most likely outcome" is that the Raiders will end up in Las Vegas, but he said that is a "little bit more going on with some discussions with Oakland." Banner said, "Some owners are not quite sure this is the right answer.” The Raiders would be the third team to relocate in the last 15 months, and Banner said, "This is not what the league wants. People talk about the league being money driven, but this is not what they want. They really do have a sense of loyalty to these cities” ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 1/27). Pro Football HOFer Marcus Allen, who played 11 years with the L.A. Raiders, said, "I would rather see the teams remain where they are. But if it doesn't work out, Mark Davis is trying to do I think the best for his organization" ("PFT,” NBCSN, 1/30).
HASTA LA VISTA: In S.F., Bruce Jenkins noted if the deal goes through for Davis, "forget playing the next two years in Oakland." Jenkins: "Get out. You won't be welcome" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/28). ESPN's Brent Musburger said, "It will be an enormous success, especially for the fans of the teams that play the Raiders in Las Vegas. Every season, the road fans will plan trips to Vegas to see their teams. They will find a very, very warm reception in the community. It’s a growing community, very transient. It’s a natural. Vegas has grown so much beyond the gambling, and the NFL will find that out" (MMQB.SI.com, 1/30).
