With the NFL potentially voting on the proposal as early as Monday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders could be poised to move to Las Vegas.
This week has long been anticipated as an important stretch for the Raiders, who have filed to relocate to Las Vegas. The team has already secured funding–including $750 million from the state, along with the backing of Bank of America–for its proposed $1.9 billion stadium project in the city. Now that NFL owners are meeting in Phoenix, the league could decide to weigh in on the issue.
As that vote approaches, it appears that the Raiders could be in a position to receive approval. More from ESPN.com:
The owners are expected to vote on the Raiders’ proposed relocation Monday at around 2 p.m. ET, according to [ESPN’s Adam] Schefter.
Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio that the voting outcome on the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas will be “positive.”
“I think we will have a vote, and I think we will have a positive vote. I think we are in pretty good shape,” Goodell said.
Multiple outlets have reported that Goodell has sent a letter to Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf, a dispatched that offered some criticisms of the city’s plan to keep the Raiders. That $1.3 billion private/public proposal, which calls on $500 million contributions from the Raiders and the NFL, would lead to a new stadium being constructed on the land surrounding the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
In his letter, Goodell expressed concerns over the role of potential development partners as well as the uncertainty of the long-term status of the Oakland A’s, who currently share the Coliseum with the Raiders and are seeking a new facility of their own. More from ESPN:
“We have been prepared for nearly two years to work on finding a solution based on access to land at a certain cost, without constraints on the location of the stadium or timing of construction, and clarity on overall development,” the commissioner told Schaaf. “However, at this date, there remains no certainty regarding how the site will be fully developed, or the specific and contractually defined nature of the participation by Fortress or other parties. In addition, the long-term nature of the commitment to the A’s remains a significant complication, and the resolution of that issue remains unknown. Other significant uncertainties, which we have previously identified, remain unaddressed.
“Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution. It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion.”
In order to receive approval to relocate, the Raiders will need 24 of 32 owners to sign off on the plan.
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