NFL Owners Approve Raiders Move to Las Vegas
A big majority of NFL owners voted yes on the Oakland Raiders proposed move or relocation to Las Vegas, Nevada. The vote was one short of unanimous approval at 31 positive votes out of 32 owners. It was a strong statement how confident the owners and the NFL brass feel about the Las Vegas area since a few more negative votes were expected. Only the Miami Dolphins voted no and were left in the dust by the overwhelming yes vote by enthusiastic owners.
Aside from the Oakland remorse and the community angst, the Raider`s move will be a boost for the league and embraced by the city of Las Vegas.
The Raiders will play the next two years in Oakland until the Vegas stadium is completed in 2020. The Oakland Coliseum was over 50 years old and in bad shape and ignored for a long time. Some stadium employees said the plumbing was constantly leaking, the seats in disrepair and the safety of fans was in jeopardy. But Oakland would not upgrade or do anything about the problems. Many would suggest to visit this web-site to opt with said concerns regarding plumbing issues.
The city of Oakland officials said recently they were losing money on the Raiders and were glad to see them leave. A bad situation for Raider Nation fans who were very loyal among all NFL fans over the years but now lose their team. However, Las Vegas is next to California for an easy visit during the season. It was not like the St Louis Rams moving 1500 miles away back to Los Angeles. After the initial shock wears off, Raider fans will still get to some games in Las Vegas, especially if the Raiders get to the playoffs. The next two years will seem uneven but feelings and emotions will subside if the Raiders have winning seasons.
Most major sports stadiums have a shelf life of 40 years. Las Vegas is very good at building massive structures within budget and on time. Look at the strip casinos and their style and modern presence to appreciate why the strip attracts millions of tourists each month.
The new stadium will be a technological marvel and impact the whole area.
A significant factor for the big approval vote was no realignment was necessary with Oakland and Las Vegas in the same western area. Relocation can sometimes mean the realignment from the moving team to another NFL Conference to fit the area of the country. Realignment is a real sticky issue with the NFL and owners. Adding a team to another conference impinges on those established teams claiming that sectional part of the NFL team location — in other words, stay out of my conference.
The NFL can keep things the same just as if they moved a franchise next store in the same neighborhood. The Raiders in Las Vegas are actually in a better traveling position going to their AFC West competitors in Los Angeles, the Chargers, Denver and Kansas City.
The input of tourist revenue being spent every weekend on various entertainment outlets like big boxing events and Nascar will also be used on an NFL game which is a big drawing card. Casinos will buy major blocks of seats at the stadium for their customers. There are about one million residents with a 20 mile radius of the stadium. The Raiders will have no issues selling out every single game which is more money for the team and the league.
The new stadium will be a modern state of the art structure and very close to the world class restaurants and hotels on and off the strip. Vegas has one of the best airports in the country ideally situated for transportation in and out of Vegas.
Las Vegas handles the biggest conventions in the world every month with their acclaimed professional skills and customer satisfaction. Adding the NFL experience with the media and hype is what Vegas does best. The city is able to absorb all the hoopla and prepare for anything that comes their way. An international city located in the desert ready to accommodate those events and people with the anxiety and excitement of a new born baby.
