| Advertisement |
PHOENIX -- If only the walls could talk inside the Arizona Biltmore, where NFL relocation has been front and center over the last three decades. As the 2017 league meetings began Sunday with an opening address by commissioner Roger Goodell, owners were poised to vote Monday to approve the relocation of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas, another desert city just under 300 miles away.
Advertisement
A high-ranking league source told The Sports Xchange the vote will happen Monday and the move very likely will be approved without any contingencies regarding a lease agreement or site selection as had been speculated.
"The lease isn't done, but that's just a formality," the source said. "There's very little room wiggle room on what has to be finalized."
As for the site, which is at the start of The Strip and near I-15, the source added, "It's a great site. And while it's not big enough for ample parking, Las Vegas does parking very well."
That was a reference to the numerous hotels with large parking areas. The league has become bullish on Las Vegas after Raiders owner Mark Davis put together what has been reported as a $1.9 billion stadium deal that includes $750 million in public money to be financed by a hotel sales tax, $650 million in a loan from Bank of America that will be guaranteed by the league, and $500 million combined from Davis and the NFL.
Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal reported the actual stadium cost is just under $1.7 billion, and that another $200 million of public money is earmarked for future capital improvements. Kaplan reported the Bank of America loan is actually about $450 million.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told USA Today that Monday will "be an exciting day for Vegas."
Very significant is that Oakland, despite years to put together a deal to keep the team, failed.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf grabbed headlines Friday when she claimed the city had put together an offer for a $1.3 billion stadium, and told ESPN, "What I am confident about is, if the Raiders want to stay in Oakland, we have a viable plan to build them a stadium with no upfront money from them, in financial terms that I believe are more favorable to them than the terms in Las Vegas -- what we know of them."
She added, "Of course, we have something that Vegas can never offer, and that's legacy and loyalty. This team was born in Oakland. This team enjoys some of the most passionate and dedicated fans of any NFL franchise. Those things belong uniquely to Oakland."
That deal, communicated to the NFL, included the same $500 million pledged by the league and Davis for Las Vegas, $600 million in a loan or guarantee (whichever Davis prefers) from financial equity firm Fortress and $200 million from the city for conveyance and infrastructure improvements.
It didn't take long for the league to respond. While Schaaf's letter said the proposal was "viable and responsible," in a letter obtained by the East Bay Times, Goodell wrote, "Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution. It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion.
"We have been prepared for nearly two years to work on finding a solution based on access to land at a certain cost, without constraints on the location of the stadium or timing of construction, and clarity on the overall development. However, at this date, there remains no certainty regarding how the site will be fully developed, or the specific and contractually-defined nature of the participation by Fortress or other parties.
"In addition, the long-term nature of the commitment to the A's remains a significant complication and the resolution of that issue remains unknown."
It is also significant that the first sentence of Goodell's letter says, "We have had an opportunity to review the material your office released today regarding a stadium project in Oakland for the Raiders," giving the appearance that Schaaf's proposal wasn't communicated directly to the commissioner, leading many in the league to believe the proposal was simply political cover.
Jets owner Woody Johnson, a member of the NFL's finance committee, said of Oakland's effort to keep the team, "They didn't make a valiant effort."
In March 1988, the league approved the move of the St. Louis Cardinals to Phoenix. Seven years later, the move of the Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis was first voted down by the league, only to be approved one month later.
Two years ago in Phoenix, Rams owner Stan Kroenke told the league his plans to move back to Los Angeles. Many owners were opposed and said it wouldn't be approved. Ten months later, the league rejected the recommendation of the Los Angeles Opportunities Committee to move the Raiders and Chargers to a stadium in Carson, Calif., instead in a secret vote deciding to allow Kroenke to move the Rams into a $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood.
With the Chargers reaching agreement two months ago to play in Inglewood, the Raiders were the only team in limbo.
That will be rectified as early as lunchtime on the veranda Monday.
