With The First Pick
Fansided

Raiders to Las Vegas not so Simple

By Carl Cockerham

Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis looks on before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis looks on before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 12, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis enters for the 2016 NFL Owners meeting at the Westin Houston in Houston, TX. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis enters for the 2016 NFL Owners meeting at the Westin Houston in Houston, TX. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

No Guarantees

During his Vegas press conference, Davis said “We have made a commitment to Las Vegas at this point in time, and that’s where it stands. If Las Vegas can come through with what we’ve been talking about, and we can come to do a deal here, then we’re going to be the Las Vegas Raiders.”

Davis also pledged his $500 million for the move to Las Vegas, making me believe it was on. But the more he continued to talk, the more ifs I saw were going to be involved in this process. Davis spoke of $300 million being his own money and the other $200 million from the NFL’s G-4 loan.

But the NFL’s G-4 loan program was established in 2011 to help teams build stadiums in their home cities. So there’s no guarantee he’ll get it if it’s not for a stadium in or near Oakland. As far as Las Vegas coming through goes, there has to be a big vote on that.

The city has to tax visitors that come into town and stay in the hotels to come up with $750 million of the $1.3 billion required to build the stadium. Sure, Las Vegas loves football but there are no guarantees on this vote. There are obstacles within the city to overcome for this to happen.

Next: The Obstacles

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