The Oakland Raiders are making the move to Las Vegas after NFL team owners voted during the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, granting the approval 31-1.
The decision was nearly unanimous with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross being the only dissenting vote. It’s reported that Ross owns land across from the Oakland stadium and will lose money with the team’s relocation. The Vegas move also brings in another big contender when vying to host the Super Bowl.
The Raiders move is the third NFL franchise relocation is just 14 months.
In search of a new stadium, the Raiders initially tried to move to LA in a joint project with the San Diego Chargers. NFL owners, however, voted in favor of the Rams’ Inglewood stadium project in January 2016 and gave the Raiders the potential option of relocating to L.A. if the Chargers decided not to move north, but they did.
According to NFL.com, the Raiders won’t immediately move to Las Vegas since construction of their planned $1.7 billion domed stadium isn’t expected to be completed until 2020. They will play this season at the Oakland Coliseum and have a contract option to play there again in 2018. After that, they likely will have to find a temporary venue to play in until their new stadium just off the Las Vegas strip is built.
Once they move, it will mark the franchise’s third relocation since its inception in 1960.
The move is sad for Oakland fans after dealing with losing for so long and finally having a winning team. The Raiders are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2002 after posting a 12-4 record en route to finishing second in the AFC West. The franchise has won three Super Bowl titles and an AFL title during its 57-year history.
