Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas
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The Las Vegas Raiders relocation to Oakland saw the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...
, an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
club in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL), move from their longtime home of
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
to
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. The renamed
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...
play home games at
Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) UNLV Rebels football, Rebels college footbal ...
in
Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...
, which was substantially completed on July 31, 2020. The Raiders' move followed years of failed efforts by team owner
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host *Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
to renovate or replace the
Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
, which had been consistently rated as one of the worst stadiums in the NFL. NFL team owners approved the move, 31–1, at their annual league meeting in
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, on March 27, 2017. The Raiders became the third NFL franchise in the 2010s to announce a move, following the Rams' 2016 return to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, California from St. Louis, Missouri and the Chargers' 2017 move from
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to Los Angeles, California. The Raiders also became the second professional sports franchise to represent Las Vegas after the
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's
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.


Background

The Oakland Raiders were founded as a charter member of the
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) in 1960. The team joined the NFL as a result of the
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspec ...
in 1970. From 1966 until 1981, it played home games at the
Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
, which it shared with
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
's
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
after that team moved to Oakland from
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
in 1968. In 1980
Al Davis Allen Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in ...
, dissatisfied with the stadium situation in Oakland and seeing luxury suites as the future of the NFL, came to an agreement with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission to move the Raiders to Los Angeles. The NFL had refused to let the team move, but a court overruled the league, clearing the way for the Raiders to move to Los Angeles and become the Los Angeles Raiders in 1982. The Raiders played home games at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
from
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
to
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
. In
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
, the Raiders returned to Oakland after the city and
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...
agreed to build the luxury and club seats on to the Oakland Coliseum with a structure that would become known as Mount Davis. Davis chose to return the Raiders to Oakland after the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission failed to deliver on promised renovations to build luxury suites (the Coliseum would not have luxury suites until a 2019 renovation), and after he was unable to secure a new stadium in the Los Angeles area that met his conditions (plans to build new stadiums in Irwindale and in Inglewood at the future site of
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...
in the late 1980s and early 1990s respectively collapsed). At one point a proposed move to
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
that involved Davis taking ownership of the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
, looked possible but that deal fell apart. Las Vegas had been home to a number of other professional football franchises between 1994 and the Raiders' arrival, none of which were particularly successful. The Las Vegas Posse, part of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...
's effort to enter the U.S. market, lasted one season in 1994 and suffered from a poor on-field product and low attendance. The XFL included the Las Vegas Outlaws in its lone 2001 season. Attendance and on-field performance were respectable, and the team embraced the city's culture, but the Outlaws' modest success was overshadowed by the failure of the XFL. The
Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...
of the United Football League were a major on-field success and were one of the UFL's best teams; it nonetheless suffered from poor attendance that continued to decline throughout the league's existence to the point that its last home game drew only 600 fans. The
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
included three teams in Las Vegas over the course of its history: the Las Vegas Sting (1994 and 1995), Las Vegas Gladiators (2003 to 2007, who moved to
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
and became the Cleveland Gladiators before folding), and another Las Vegas Outlaws (2015). The
Las Vegas Sin The Las Vegas Sin was a team in the Legends Football League, primarily based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Sin was originally announced in 2006 as one of four expansion teams to be included in the 2008 Lingerie Bowl along with the Atlanta Steam, M ...
of the Lingerie Football League (now the
Legends Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is an American women's semi-professional tackle football league. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013. ...
) played in the city from 2011 to 2014.


The hunt for a home

Recent efforts to either renovate the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum or replace it with a new football stadium in Oakland or elsewhere began on November 18, 2009. In 2011, Al Davis died; control of the team was assumed by his son
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host *Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
who made the three-decade stadium problem a top priority. The Raiders were free to move after the 2013 NFL season, when its lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum expired. While exploring possible solutions in the Bay Area and elsewhere, the Raiders signed one-year extensions of its lease on the Coliseum.


2011: Levi's Stadium

The Raiders were talking with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
about sharing the planned
Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 201 ...
in
Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
. However, the 49ers went ahead without the Raiders and broke ground on the $1.2 billion stadium on April 19, 2012, and afterwards sold $670 million worth of seats including 70% of club and luxury suites, making it more unlikely that the Raiders would want to explore any idea of sharing the stadium as they would then be secondary tenants with little to no commercial rights over the highly lucrative luxury suites. In October 2012, Mark Davis told NFL Network reporter
Ian Rapoport Ian Rapoport is an American sportswriter, pundit, and television analyst who primarily covers the National Football League (NFL). Career Rapoport started his career for the '' Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' in 2004 covering the Mississippi State Bull ...
that he had no plans to share the stadium but that he did recognize the Raiders' need for a new home and that he hoped the new home would be in Oakland. When Levi's Stadium opened on July 17, 2014, NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chose ...
mentioned to the live crowd that it would make a great home for the Raiders and that the team had to decide whether or not it wanted to play there or build a stadium on the site of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.


2012−2013: Coliseum City

On March 7, 2012, then-Mayor
Jean Quan Lai Jean Quan (born October 21, 1949) is an American politician that served as the 49th mayor of Oakland, California from 2011 to 2015. She previously served as City Council member for Oakland's 4th District. Upon inauguration on January 3, 201 ...
unveiled an ambitious project to the media that was designed to improve the sports facilities of all three major league sports teams in the city (the Raiders, the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
, and the
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
), as well as attract new businesses to the city. The project, dubbed Coliseum City, had entailed the redevelopment of the existing Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum complex. The redevelopment would have seen the construction of two new stadiums on the present location, a baseball-only stadium and a football-only stadium, while
Oracle Arena An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''o ...
, home of the Warriors, would have been either rebuilt or undergone extensive renovations. A sum of $3.5 million was committed to preliminary planning on the project. However, no officials from either of Oakland's major league teams were present at the media conference. According to the ''
San Francisco Business Times American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
'', Oakland's assistant city administrator
Fred Blackwell Frederick William Blackwell (September 7, 1891 – December 8, 1975) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates ...
said the Bay Investment Group LLC, an entity formed by
Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
LLC, Rashid Al Malik (chairman and CEO of HayaH Holdings), and the city, had numerous details to continue working out for the prospective $2 billion Coliseum City project, which covered 800 acres surrounding the Oakland–Alameda Coliseum Complex. The development team also included JRDV Urban International,
HKS Architects HKS, Inc. is an American international architecture firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas (USA). History The firm was founded in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith. In 2002, HKS expanded its international presence by opening HKS Arquitectos in Mex ...
, and Forest City Real Estate Services. In an ideal situation, construction could have started by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, the Warriors began to go forward with plans to build a new arena at Mission Bay, not far from
Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curren ...
, and move across the
Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...
from Oakland to San Francisco in 2019. The Athletics were also seeking a new ballpark to replace the Coliseum, and were at the time looking at a site in San Jose. In April 2014, after funding was thought to had dried up for the project, Quan gave an interview to
KGMZ-FM KGMZ-FM (95.7 MHz, "95.7 The Game") is a sports radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., and broadcasts from studios on Battery Street (shared with CBS ...
where she announced that developers working on Coliseum City "are partnered literally with the prince of Dubai, who is next in line to lead Dubai. And they have capital."' The statement was immediately walked back by her spokesperson who said no actual partnership was in place.


2013: Concord, California

The abandoned
Concord Naval Weapons Station Concord Naval Weapons Station was a military base established in 1942 north of the city of Concord, California at the shore of the Sacramento River where it widens into Suisun Bay. The station functioned as a World War II armament storage depot ...
, 26.6 miles from Oakland, was announced in 2013 as a possible location for a new stadium but developments failed to materialize.


2014: San Antonio, Texas

In July 2014,
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
, emerged as a potential destination for the team, after Raiders owner
Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host *Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...
visited the city for the induction of former Raiders wide receiver
Cliff Branch Clifford Branch Jr. (August 1, 1948 – August 3, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders during his entire 14-year National Football League (NFL) career. He won three N ...
into a local hall of fame. San Antonio, while a smaller media market than the San Francisco Bay Area, had a relatively new and NFL-ready stadium in the
Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...
, and less sporting competition. On July 29, 2014, the ''
San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...
'' reported that Mark Davis met with
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...
government officials to discuss a move after the 2014–15 NFL season. The Raiders would have played at the 65,000-seat Alamodome until a new stadium could be built. San Antonio remained in contention through at least November 2014, when Raiders staffers scouted the stadium and began negotiating with city officials. In December 2018, Davis said that his main concern with the Alamodome was the stadium's
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commerc ...
.


2015: Raiders attempt to put together a project with Athletics

It was reported in early 2015 that the Raiders met with Athletics owner
Lewis Wolff Lewis N. Wolff (born December 13, 1935) is an American real estate developer. Wolff had been co-chairman of the Board of Sunstone Investors, Inc. from October 2004 to April 2014. Wolff owned sports franchises, serving currently as the co-owner of ...
in an effort to create a stadium solution where two separate stadiums (one for the Raiders and one for the Athletics) would have been built on the coliseum site. The Athletics balked at the deal. In an interview with J. T. the Brick on KGMZ on April 4, 2017, Davis revealed that he offered Wolff 20% of the Raiders in an attempt to get a deal done. Davis further elaborated that the closest the Raiders came to a deal in Oakland was in 2013 with Colony Capital, before the Athletics agreed to a 10-year lease extension at the Coliseum with the city of Oakland.


2015: Los Angeles project and losing to the Rams

On February 19, 2015, the Raiders and the then
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
announced that they would build a privately financed $1.78 billion
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
if they were to move back to the Los Angeles market. Both teams stated that they would continue to attempt to get stadiums built in their respective cities. The Carson City Council bypassed a public vote and approved the plan 3–0. The council voted without having clarified several issues, including who would finance the stadium, how the required three-way land swap would be performed, and how it would raise enough revenue if only one team moved in as tenant. On January 12, 2016, the NFL rejected the Raiders' request to move in favor of a competing plan by Stan Kroenke to move the St. Louis Rams back to Los Angeles and construct a stadium and entertainment district in
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
. However, the NFL left open the possibility of the Raiders moving to Los Angeles by 2020 and playing in the new stadium under construction to house the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
. The San Diego Chargers had the first option to join the Rams at the new stadium. The Raiders would have been authorized to negotiate an agreement if the Chargers did not exercise their option by January 2017. The Chargers exercised their choice and announced their move to Los Angeles in January 2017, shutting the Raiders out of the Southern California market. Around this time other markets expressed interest in luring the Raiders.
Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior, Wisconsin, Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: Downtown Dul ...
, proposed to build a stadium for the team, a proposal that was not taken seriously because of the metro area's small size, proximity to the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
, and unwillingness to commit money to the stadium proposal. Less than a month after the Chargers announced their move to Los Angeles, Las Vegas emerged as the most likely destination candidate for the Raiders.


2015−2017: Negotiations to move to Las Vegas and last Oakland stadium effort


2015: Exploring Las Vegas

Al Davis often visited Las Vegas and sometimes considered moving the Raiders to the city. The first professional football game ever played in the Las Vegas area was a Raiders preseason game against the
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
in 1964 at the original Cashman Field. Mark Davis purchased LasVegasRaiders.com in 1998 and renewed the domain registration each year. On February 23, 2015, while still involved in the Carson project, Mark Davis attended a secret meeting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Research Center to look at Las Vegas sports betting, its effect on pro sports, how it could affect a pro sports team in Vegas and how the Raiders and the NFL could possibly work in Las Vegas. At the time Las Vegas was seen as a long-shot candidate to win the Raiders. The meeting was set up by Napoleon McCallum, a former Raiders player turned
Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Its corporate mission is to create "Integrated Resorts" which feature a combination of gambling, accommodation, ...
employee. McCallum approached Davis about moving the team to Las Vegas before a Broncos-Raiders game on November 9, 2014, in Oakland. McCallum was the first to suggest a meeting with UNLV about the idea. Previously, Las Vegas officials, notably Mayor
Carolyn Goodman Carolyn Goodman (née ''Goldmark'') is an American politician who has served as mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, since 2011. She is the second female mayor of Las Vegas and is married to former mayor and attorney Oscar Goodman. She is the founder, pr ...
, had suggested building a stadium near
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
. At the meeting were Davis and McCallum, along with then-UNLV president Don Snyder and Bo Bernhard, executive director of the International Gaming Institute. The meeting would not be publicly revealed until two years later. While the Raiders were looking for a stadium solution, UNLV had been looking for a way to build a new stadium to replace the aging and outdated
Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the h ...
since 2011. However, the university was having issues with coming up with the funds to build a stadium and the political will for helping fund a stadium for UNLV with public money was not there. By the beginning of 2016, the possibility was floated of building a stadium to house both the Raiders and UNLV.


2016

On January 29, 2016, Davis met with
Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Its corporate mission is to create "Integrated Resorts" which feature a combination of gambling, accommodation, ...
owner
Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns ...
about moving to a $2.3 billion, 65,000-capacity domed stadium in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
. Davis also visited UNLV to meet with the university's president Len Jessup, former university president Donald Snyder,
Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
, and former
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
(UFC) owner
Lorenzo Fertitta Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta (born January 3, 1969) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is chairman of Fertitta Capital, director of Red Rock Resorts Inc, and former CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life and education L ...
. The proposed stadium would replace
Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the h ...
and would serve as the home of both the Raiders and the
UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confe ...
. Raiders officials visited Las Vegas to tour locations in the valley for a potential new home. Interviewed by sports columnist Tim Kawakami of the ''
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
'', Davis said that he had a "great" visit in the city. Davis also said that Las Vegas was a global city and that "it's absolutely an NFL city," as well as saying that "the Raider brand would do well" and "I think Las Vegas is coming along slowly." On March 21, 2016, Davis said, "I think the Raiders like the Las Vegas plan," and "it's a very very very intriguing and exciting plan". Davis also met with Nevada Governor
Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...
about the stadium plan. On April 1, 2016, Davis toured Sam Boyd Stadium to evaluate whether UNLV could serve as a temporary home of the team. He talked with UNLV football coach Tony Sanchez, athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy, adviser Don Snyder and school president Len Jessup. On April 28, 2016, Davis said he wanted to move the Raiders to Las Vegas and he pledged $500 million toward the construction of a proposed $2.4 billion domed stadium. "Together we can turn the Silver State into the silver and black state," Davis said. At a media conference in UNLV's Stan Fulton Building, Davis also said the club had "made a commitment to Las Vegas at this point in time and that's where it stands." In an interview with
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
after returning from a meeting for the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft ...
he explained why southern Nevada might be a better location than the
East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...
of the Oakland–San Francisco Bay Area and how he tried to make it work in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
; he also spoke of the meeting saying, "It was a positive, well-organized presentation that I believe was well-received", and said, "It was a very positive step in finding the Raiders a home." On May 20, 2016,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
owner
Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment ...
said he would support Davis and the Raiders' move to Las Vegas: "I think it would be good for the NFL." On May 23, 2016, the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' and other media outlets reported that a group led by former
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
safety (and
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
member) Ronnie Lott and former quarterback
Rodney Peete Rodney Peete (born March 16, 1966) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers. He played ...
were looking into building a new Oakland stadium for the Raiders. The group met with team executives and Oakland city officials to brief them on their proposal. They also met with mayor
Libby Schaaf Elizabeth Beckman Schaaf (born November 12, 1965) is an American politician who has been Mayor of Oakland, California since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Oakland City Council. Schaaf won the November 4, 2 ...
. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to begin negotiations with Lott's group and with the city of Oakland regarding the "price and terms of sale" for the 120-acre land of the Oakland Coliseum and Oracle Arena. NFL.com's Judy Battista reported from the NFL spring league meeting in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...
on May 24, 2016 that Davis planned to relocate the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas if Las Vegas & Clark County government officials, as well as wealthy businessmen, could come up with a suitable stadium proposal. At the spring league meeting, Davis, speaking about Las Vegas, was quoted to have said "It seems like a neutral site" etween the Bay Area and Southern California adding, "
as Vegas As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...
could unite Raider Nation and not divide it. It's not giving up on something else. I would like to give somebody the opportunity to get something done." Davis publicly reiterated his commitment to his announced plans to move the Raiders franchise to Las Vegas with the support of the state of Nevada and casino mogul
Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns ...
, and said he did not want to negotiate further with Oakland while the Las Vegas deal was still actively in progress. A move to Las Vegas required approval by a three-quarters majority of NFL owners, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell publicly stated his preference for keeping the Raiders franchise in Oakland if at all possible. However, it was reported that the NFL looked unfavorably on the Lott Group's financier
Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group is an American investment management firm based in New York City. Fortress was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, and Randal Nardone. When Fortress launched on the NYSE in February 200 ...
, known for defaulting on promises and backing patent trolls. On August 11, 2016, Raiders' officials met with northern Nevada officials about the possibility of
Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...
being the site of a new training camp/practice facility, and they toured several sites including the
University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...
, Reno area high schools, and sports complexes. On August 25, 2016, the Raiders filed a trademark application for "Las Vegas Raiders" on the same day renderings of a new stadium (located west of
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...
in Las Vegas) were released to the public. On September 15, 2016, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee unanimously voted to recommend and approve $750 million for the Las Vegas stadium plan. On October 11, 2016, the
Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...
voted 16–5 to approve the funding bill for the Las Vegas stadium proposal. The
Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member district ...
voted 28–13 three days later to approve the bill to fund the new Las Vegas stadium proposal; two days later, Governor Brian Sandoval signed the funding bill into law. Davis told
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
on October 15, 2016, that even if the Raiders were approved by the league to move to the Las Vegas metropolitan area, the club would play the next two seasons at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in 2017 and 2018: "We want to bring a Super Bowl championship back to the Bay Area." The team would then play at a temporary facility in 2019 after its lease at the Coliseum expires. Davis also indicated a desire to play at least one preseason game in Las Vegas, at Sam Boyd Stadium, as early as the 2018 season. This would fail to materalize and all home preseason games until 2020 would be played in Oakland. On October 17, 2016, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law Senate Bill 1 and Assembly Bill 1 which approved a hotel room tax rate increase to accommodate $750 million in public funding for the new stadium. On November 12, 2016, a report from the NFL's in-house media team said Las Vegas might not be a done deal. The report said that most owners preferred the Raiders to stay in Oakland due to market size and stability. The vast majority of the NFL's revenue comes from TV contracts. So it made little sense for the other 31 NFL owners to allow one of their partners to leave the country's 6th-biggest media market for its 42nd even if the market was also home to another partner in the 49ers. On November 30, 2016, a framework deal to keep the Raiders in Oakland was announced. In addition to the public land, the city of Oakland would commit $200 million to improve the infrastructure of the surrounding area. The Raiders would contribute $500 million to the stadium, while Lott's group would contribute $400 million; the NFL already committed $300 million when it rejected the Raiders' bid to return to Los Angeles in 2015. Ronnie Lott had no financial or ownership stake in the Raiders; some sources indicated that Lott was also asking for an ownership stake (reportedly around 20%) in the Raiders franchise as part of the deal, a condition that was unacceptable to Raiders owner Mark Davis. The Oakland proposal was officially announced in December 2016, and called for a $1.3 billion, football-only stadium built on the existing Coliseum site. It included mixed use development for possible office or retail space, hotel or residential living and parking, as well as 15 acres set aside for a new baseball-only facility for the Oakland Athletics if the A's so desired. The site also could have been expanded to include the land Oracle Arena sits on, with the Warriors cleared to move to their new San Francisco arena by the 2019 season. The Ronnie Lott proposal was voted on by the Oakland city and Alameda County elected officials on December 13, 2016 and approved by Oakland in a 7–0 vote and by Alameda County in a 3–2 vote.


2017

The Raiders officially filed paperwork to move to Las Vegas on January 19, 2017. The Raiders needed 24 of the 32 NFL club owners to vote to officially approve the move to Las Vegas. On January 30, 2017, it was announced that Adelson had dropped out of the stadium project, also withdrawing the Las Vegas Sands' proposed $650 million contribution from the project. Instead, the Raiders would increase their contribution from $500 million to $1.15 billion. One day after Adelson's announcement,
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...
(the company behind the financing to the proposed Las Vegas stadium) announced its intent to withdraw from the project. On January 31, 2017, in the aftermath of Adelson and Goldman Sachs' withdrawal from the Las Vegas deal, the ''
San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' reported that
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, California from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for th ...
reached out to an NFL official to let them know they were eager to engage; a city official also spoke to a Raiders official on the phone. The Union-Tribune noted that any possible Raiders move to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
or bringing a team to the city would have been aided by a proposal for a
soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...
and mixed development. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated, during his State of the NFL address, that San Diego would need a new stadium in order to draw the team. Another roadblock for a Raiders move to the city would have been the owners of the current Los Angeles teams. Stan Kroenke and Dean Spanos would block any team from sharing Southern California, especially if that team is the Raiders (given the team's continued popularity in the region). San Diego, as an option for the Raiders, was remote. San Diego was previously home to the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
from 1961 until 2016 (when the team moved to the
Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino ...
); a Raiders move there would have been ironic given that the team's primary rival the Chargers were based in that city. On February 16, 2017, the San Diego Union-Tribune obtained a letter from Doug Manchester that stated he had "assembled a powerful group of associates" who would develop a 70,000-seat stadium on the land of
SDCCU Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...
; the letter also stated the project would provide "a viable alternative" to the Raiders in case Las Vegas fell through; the group also stated that they were "open to working with the Chargers, Raiders, other NFL owners, or a new ownership group"; it also stated an NFL franchise could participate as a partner or tenant: "Our group will provide the funds previously allocated to be provided by the City of San Diego and guarantee the stadium's expeditious construction. Accordingly it will not require voter approval." It also said they would provide "new state of the art scoreboards and upgrade Qualcomm Stadium while the new stadium is being constructed". On March 1, 2017, Fortress Investment Group submitted a tweaked version of the Oakland stadium plan to the NFL.


Move to Las Vegas

On March 6, 2017, the Raiders revealed that
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
would be replacing Sheldon Adelson's portion of the funding for the new stadium in Las Vegas. On March 27, 2017, the National Football League officially approved the Raiders move from Oakland to Las Vegas in a 31–1 vote, with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
being the only team to vote against the measure. However, even though the Raiders were approved to move to Las Vegas, the club still played the
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
NFL seasons at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and were still known as the Oakland Raiders as long as they played in the San Francisco Bay Area. The team moved to the new stadium in
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. The NFL issued a press release on April 14, 2017 outlining a statement of reasons as to why the league's ownership approved the Raiders' application to move from Oakland to Las Vegas. About one thousand season ticket holders asked for and received refunds after the move to Las Vegas was announced. Their tickets were sold to other fans within hours, and the Raiders' 53,250 season tickets were all sold out by late May. The league levied a $350 million relocation fee on the Raiders, which was paid in ten annual installments beginning in 2019. This figure was slightly more than half of the $650 million fee that the Rams and Chargers each paid to move to Los Angeles. On November 13, 2017, the Raiders officially broke ground on what was at the time tentatively called Las Vegas Stadium.


2018

On January 2, 2018, the Henderson city council approved the sale of 55 vacant acres of land to the Raiders for their new headquarters and practice facility near
Henderson Executive Airport Henderson Executive Airport is a public use government airport located in Henderson, Nevada, 13 miles south of Las Vegas, in Clark County, Nevada. The airport is owned by the Clark County Commission and operated by the Clark County Department of ...
. In January, construction crews began blasting
caliche Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions ...
rock with dynamite to excavate and create the stadium bowl. By April 2018, more than 30 Raiders employees had already moved to Las Vegas from Oakland. On December 12, 2018, NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chose ...
announced that Las Vegas would host the
2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...
, solidifying the NFL's support for the move, stating: "We look forward to working with the Raiders, Las Vegas officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to create an unforgettable week-long celebration of football for our fans, the incoming prospects and partners." However, the draft was eventually held only via
videoconferencing Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio signal, audio and video signals by people in different locations for Real-time, real time communication. ...
in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. During the 2020 draft, Goodell announced that Las Vegas would instead host the draft in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
.


2019

On December 11, 2018, the city of Oakland filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders and, individually, all 31 other teams in the NFL seeking millions of dollars in financial damages and unpaid debts on the Coliseum; the suit did not seek an injunction forcing the team to stay. On May 1, 2020, the suit was dismissed. In February 2019, it was reported that the Raiders were negotiating with
Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curren ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, home of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
's
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
to host the Raiders for the 2019 season, but the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
reportedly
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
ed the deal using their territorial rights. The Raiders then, with admitted reluctance, resumed negotiations with the Coliseum and announced a renewal with that venue on February 25; the agreement, which ran for one or two years depending on whether the Allegiant Stadium was ready for play in 2020, required approval from the city of Oakland and the NFL. The Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and Oakland City Council all voted to approve the lease by March 21, clearing all legal hurdles in time for the NFL's owners meetings on March 24.


2020

On January 9, 2020, the Raiders changed their
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
handles from "Oakland Raiders" to "The Raiders". On January 22, 2020, the team was officially declared the "Las Vegas Raiders" in a ceremony at Allegiant Stadium. In February 2020, the Raiders sold their under-construction headquarters in
Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Val ...
, to Mesirow Financial for $191 million in a
sale-and-leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done fo ...
. As part of the sale, the Raiders signed a 29-year lease on the headquarters, with options to extend at the end of the lease for ten-year terms up to a total of 99 years. The new headquarters, called the ''Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center'', opened in June 2020 and is part of a complex that also includes a studio for the
Las Vegas Raiderettes The Las Vegas Raiderettes are the cheerleading squad for the Las Vegas Raiders professional American football team. They were established in 1961 as the Oakland Raiderettes. When the Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982, the cheerleading squa ...
and a headquarters and practice facility for the WNBA's
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...
which were purchased by Davis in 2021.
Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) UNLV Rebels football, Rebels college footbal ...
met its substantial completion deadline on July 31, 2020. The team held its first closed-door practice in the stadium on August 21. The team won its first game as the Las Vegas Raiders on September 13, 2020, defeating the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
, 34-30; they won their first home game in their new venue eight days later, defeating the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, 34-24.


See also

*
Baltimore Colts relocation to Indianapolis Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
*
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy - colloquially called "The Move" by fans - was caused during the 1995 NFL season by the announcement from then-Browns owner Art Modell that he intended to move the Cleveland Browns of the National Foo ...
*
National Football League franchise moves and mergers Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged. In the early years, the NFL was not stable and teams moved frequently to survive, or folded only to be resurrected in a different city with ...
* Relocation of professional sports teams *
National Football League controversies The National Football League (NFL) is the premier professional American football league in the United States, and is also one of the major North American professional sports leagues. However, the NFL is not without its share of controversies. Thr ...


References


External links


Las Vegas Raiders
{{Las Vegas Raiders Oakland Raiders Las Vegas Raiders National Football League controversies National Football League franchise relocations 2017 in sports in California 2017 in sports in Nevada