Raiders owner Mark Davis: Las Vegas is 'absolutely an NFL city'
SAN FRANCISCO — Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis really likes the Las Vegas market.
“It’s absolutely an NFL city,” Davis told USA TODAY Sports Friday.
He even listed some reasons:
“It’s an international city,” Davis said. “It’s a global city. Again, the Raiders are a global brand, so it’s got potential.”
After being rejected in his bid to move to Los Angeles, Davis visited Las Vegas recently as part of his quest to find a permanent new home for the Raiders.
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He also has visited San Antonio. But Vegas is different. No major league team plays there, and the NFL historically has opposed traditional sports gambling, which is big business at Vegas casinos.
Asked about the NFL’s position on sports betting, Davis said "timing" was a factor.
“I think that’s the word you’d have to put on it, but it’s absolutely an NFL city," Davis told USA TODAY Sports.
Davis was otherwise mum on his recent visit to Las Vegas, where a new $1 billion stadium is being proposed by casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” Davis said.
Oakland Raiders have a new home waiting for them in Levi's Stadium
Davis is unhappy with his current stadium situation in Oakland, leading him to explore other possibilities. This year, his team is even giving up a home game to play in Mexico City on Nov. 21.
"Mark Davis has a lot of options,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday at his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference.
Davis agreed with that assessment but told USA TODAY Sports that Levi’s Stadium in nearby Santa Clara was not one of them. Even though it was built for two NFL teams and is only 30 miles from Oakland, Davis has rejected the idea.
He explained why Friday, saying the parking was insufficient for tailgating. So far only the neighboring San Francisco 49ers play at Levi's Stadium, which opened in 2014 and will host Super Bowl 50 on Sunday.
“I just don’t think it fits the Raiders,” Davis told USA TODAY Sports. “This is one thing I will say and I’ll say it again for the 50th time. There’s three words that mean something to me in a stadium, in a location. That’s ingress, egress and parking. The Raiders on game day … if you see our parking lot before the game, the tailgating, it’s probably the largest nondenominational gathering on a Sunday morning that you’ll ever find, and I’m not going to give that up.”
In the meantime, the Raiders are expected to return to the old Oakland Coliseum, which opened in 1966. They have been playing there recently on yearly leases and are likely to do the same again this year. Beyond that, no viable plan is on the table for a new stadium in Oakland despite his flirtation with other cities.
“I don’t know,” Davis told USA TODAY Sports about his lease in Oakland this year. “They’re trying to get one done. So we’ll see.”
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Goodell did not address the Las Vegas issue at his press conference, but the league hasn't ruled the city out. In a recent memo to teams, the league noted that "there is no prohibition under league rules on a team moving to any particular city."
Even so, the NFL and other major sports leagues have fought efforts to legalize traditional sports gambling in New Jersey, saying it jeopardizes the integrity of their games. Traditional sports gambling is largely illegal outside of Nevada, where sports betting draws huge crowds to casinos on NFL Sundays.
Any decision on a team moving there would be up to the NFL. Relocation requires approval from 24 of the league's 32 owners.
"We want to work to try to keep our teams where they are," Goodell said.
In January, NFL owners rejected a bid by the Raiders and San Diego Chargers to relocate to the Los Angeles market and share a stadium in the suburb of Carson. The owners instead approved a bid by the Rams to move from St. Louis to Inglewood, Calif., near the L.A. airport.
49ers 'happy to help and support' Raiders, which could include sharing Levi's Stadium
The Chargers have the first option to join the Rams in that stadium but said they first will play at least one more season San Diego, where they are seeking a new stadium of their own. If they decide to stay in San Diego permanently, the Raiders would have the option to join the Rams in Inglewood instead.
The latter possibility likely depends on whether San Diego voters approve public funding for a new Chargers stadium, which appears to be a long shot at this point. Polling data show that such a ballot measure would fail, with around 60 percent rejecting it.
"We're working very hard with not only the teams but the communities to find a solution that works for everybody," Goodell said of Oakland and San Diego. "This has to work for the community and it has to work for the teams long term."
Follow sports reporter Brent Schrotenboer on Twitter @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com