By: Adrian Manguit, Eagle News Service US, Florida Bureau
(Phoenix) – The NFL has done some rearranging these past few years. First, the St. Louis Rams went to Los Angeles, then the city of Angels received its second NFL team in the Chargers from San Diego, and now the Raiders move from the city of Oakland to Las Vegas. The NFL owners met today in Phoenix, AZ and voted 31 to 1 to move the team from Oakland, Ca to Las Vegas, NV. The only owner to vote against the relocation was Miami Dolphin’s owner Stephen Ross. “My position today was that we as owners and as a league owe it to the fans to do everything we can to stay in the communities that have supported us, “Ross said.
The Raider’s current owner, Mark Davis, son of Raiders former owner and founder Al Davis, demonstrated both exuberance and understanding after the League’s decision on Monday. “The Raiders were born in Oakland and Oakland will always be part of our DNA. We know that some fans will be disappointed and even angry, but we hope that they do not direct that frustration to the players, coaches and staff,” Davis said after the decision.
The current plan for the Raiders is to play the 2017 and 2018 football seasons in Oakland, CA, while construction of their nearly $2 billion-dollar stadium is being built in Las Vegas, NV. The new stadium is scheduled to hold up to 65,000 people in attendance. It is scheduled to be completed in the year 2020.
Some may question the move. From a booming economy, close to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, (also the sixth largest TV market) to an economy mostly based on tourism among other things. Plus, it is the 40th ranked TV market in the United States. However, Oakland’s Mayor Libby Shaaf has often communicated with NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, that her city could not afford a new stadium, swaying NFL owners decision on Monday. The city of Las Vegas has assured they will help in the cost of a new stadium using tax money, estimated to be around $750 million.
The Raiders have been a part of the city of Oakland since 1960, being one of the original teams of the AFL (American Football League). They have won three Super Bowl Championships under their legendary owner, Al Davis. Oakland Raider’s logo and clothing were made famous into the mainstream culture by rapper and actor, Ice Cube, a long-life Raider fan and Oakland native. The move from Oakland to Las Vegas will not be easy for some fans to say the least.
“I am disappointed that the Raiders and the NFL chose Las Vegas over Oakland,” Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf said in her official statement. She went on to say that the Bay area fans “deserved better.”
Starting Quarterback for Raiders, Derek Carr, gave an emotional statement in his latest tweet, saying “As I sit here and see a vote that takes the Raiders to Las Vegas, I am overwhelmed with emotion. I don’t know how we should feel. I feel the pain of our fans in Oakland. I also see the joy in the faces of our new fans in Las Vegas.”
As the saying goes, “One man’s gain, is another man’s loss”, the city of Las Vegas feel as they have hit the jackpot. The city recently announced of their new NHL team, the “Golden Knights”, who will start during the 2017 season, and now have what most major cities in the United States want, an NFL franchise.