Raiders President Marc Badain said that there have been "no talks yet" with Oakland about playing there in '19, but he added that if the city "wants them, they'll work it out," according to Jason Cole of BLEACHER REPORT. The Raiders said that they had "roughly 1,000 fans ask for refunds" on '17 season tickets. Those tickets were "resold shortly" thereafter. Meanwhile, NFL owners yesterday approved "both the lease and the debt waiver" for the Raiders move to Las Vegas (TWITTER.com, 5/23). In San Jose, Jon Becker notes the Raiders have "legally-binding options to play in Oakland the next two seasons." However, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority BOD "indicated in March it had no desire to house the Raiders" beyond the '17 and '18 seasons, "claiming it loses money when the Raiders play at the Coliseum" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/24).
EVERY LITTLE STEP I TAKE: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney notes NFL owners' approval of the stadium lease for the Raiders in the city will allow the project to "move forward toward an anticipated" opening for the '20 season. The league had pushed the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board to "complete the lease." Raiders Owner Mark Davis said, "We have a lot more to do, but this was a big step. Hopefully, getting shovels in the ground by the first of the year is possible now." Graney notes a key point in the lease is a "provision to prevent gaming at the stadium, but the issue of mobile gambling at games wasn’t broached at all by owners when discussing the lease." If the team can "break ground by January" -- as Davis and Badain noted yesterday remains their goal -- the 30-month construction timeline "would stay on track for completion" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/24).
