The day many have waited for and many others have dreaded is here. Today the NFL owners vote on whether or not to approve the Raiders request to relocate the franchise to Las Vegas.
The vote is expected to take place as early at 10am today. And if you believe the words from several of the owners, unnamed sources, and reports, it’s quite possible the verdict could be swiftly in favor of the move.
And why not? Las Vegas has committed to what adds up to nearly $1 billion before all is said and done to fund the project. That’s $750 million now for the stadium itself and another $200 million in infrastructure which will apparently be spread out in increments of $5 million per year.
That kind of money being offered up is something the NFL and it’s owners appear to be unlikely to pass up.
Oakland has made their last big pitch in the form of a letter to the league laying out their plans for construction and funding. A plan Roger Goodell rebuffed as still being unacceptable by the league’s standards. In other words ‘it’s not a cool billion in public money.’
Also see: Mayor Schaaf: “I call bullshit” on claim Oakland plan insufficient
Should relocation be approved, we wouldn’t see moving trucks backing into the Raiders’ Alameda facility tomorrow. At least not according to Mark Davis who says the would like the team to play in Oakland for at least the next two years even if the approval to move to Vegas goes through.
Do we know for certain this will fly though with an approval? No. That’s just the consensus thinking. There is always the possibility a curve ball could be coming. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones teased it like a reality competition show finale, saying it “will be exciting.”
It was Jones who tossed the curve ball at the meetings for the Los Angeles relocation vote, adding a third option that wasn’t previously on the table. With the two proposals for the Rams in Inglewood and the Raiders/Chargers in Carson not gaining the requisite 24 votes to approve either one, Jones’s proposal was to put the Chargers in with the Rams, with the added caveat that the Chargers would be given a year to opt in, spending that year in San Diego making one last ditch attempt (yeah, right) to get something done there.
Could we see another deus ex machina like that? At this point, that’s a hope Raiders fans in Oakland are clinging to for dear life.
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