Raiders Owner Mark Davis today will brief fellow NFL execs "on Nevada’s plans" to build a $1.9B, 65,000-seat domed football stadium in Las Vegas, according to Richard Velotta of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. NFL observers are characterizing the Raiders relocation vote "as a battle between progressive NFL team owners who want to test the Las Vegas market and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who may be buying time for an alternative plan to emerge to keep the team in Oakland" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/19). In DC, Mark Maske writes the prospects of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas "falls into the not-so-fast category." Sources said that there are "potential problems with a Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, not all of them related to the city’s status as the nation’s gambling capital." The sources explained that the "relatively small size of the Las Vegas market would be a significant concern to some owners." One team official said, "In general we don’t like to leave big markets for small markets. That’s as big as anything. I think most people are not crazy about that." The official added, "Most of us would prefer they stay in Oakland. If that’s not possible and we get to January and the Las Vegas deal is all there is, we’ll have to consider it" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/19).
THE JONES EFFECT: Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said of the Raiders' prospective move to Las Vegas, "I would say, ‘Amen.’ [Wynn Resorts Chair & CEO Steve Wynn] is a valued friend and [Las Vegas Sands Chair & CEO Sheldon Adelson] is as well. I admire [MGM Resorts Chair & CEO Jim Murren] and what they do with MGM and I just admire what Nevada, Las Vegas is about. It’s a compliment to the NFL that they’re considering supporting a team. And so, I think it’s a great opportunity for everybody concerned, and I’m looking forward to the future." Jones added, "It’s a great matchup, and I’m really impressed by the leadership ... and I’m impressed by the fact that financially the people that will be supporting Mark Davis’ effort to bring those Raiders there are as excited as they are about it. That alone makes me want to be very active and very excited about the Raiders and the possibilities" (USA TODAY, 10/19). In Las Vegas, Ed Graney writes Jones, who "wants" the Raiders in Las Vegas, "owns the most juice of all owners when the doors close and major decisions are to be made" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/19).
PRETTY PENNY: ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez noted the Rams paid a reported $550M to "relocate from St. Louis" to L.A., so many observers "expect the Raiders to have to pony up that much" to move to Las Vegas (ESPN.com, 10/18).
