On March 27, the Oakland Raiders announced the franchise would be moving to Las Vegas after playing 22 consecutive seasons in Oakland, California. NFL owners almost unanimously approved this move as the vote was 31-1, with only the Miami Dolphins objecting.
For years, the NFL wanted nothing to do with the idea of a franchise moving to Las Vegas. The league was concerned that having an NFL team in Vegas would open doors to sports betting, fearing that every controversial call made by an official would be questioned.
However, these fears went out the window, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell found the league’s next big stream of revenue. The new stadium in the Sin City will be funded largely by a $750 million hotel tax, the biggest chunk of the funding, which nearly totals $2 billion.
The hotel tax helps finance schools and public transportation in the county, and according to the Washington Times, Clark County schools opted to increase classroom sizes when the school board approved a $2.2 billion budget in 2016. This was effective starting in the 2016-17 academic year and was $13.9 million less than the previous year’s plan. While Vegas schools with at-risk students lack funding, somehow there is plenty of money for an NFL franchise to come to town.
The new football palace will be capable of hosting future Super Bowls, Pro Bowls and maybe NFL Drafts. The City of Oakland could not offer anything close to the amount of money that will be compiled in order to build this stadium in Vegas. All Oakland could provide was a passionate fan base and a promise to try to privately finance a new stadium. However, Goodell did not listen to the city’s final attempt to keep their beloved franchise. According to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, the NFL attempted to push her to publicly finance a stadium and run the city’s MLB team, the Oakland Athletics, out of town.
After going nearly two decades without an NFL team relocating, three teams have changed homes in the past 18 months with the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams moving to Los Angeles. According to Sports Business Journal, the revenue generated by each move is estimated to be more than $50 million each, a reward which reaps benefits for all 32 NFL franchises.
This is the second time the Raiders will leave Oakland, the first being in 1982 when former team owner Al Davis unsuccessfully attempted to make improvements to the team’s Oakland coliseum.
Construction for the Las Vegas stadium will begin this year, with plans to be completed in time for the 2020 NFL season. Until then, the Raiders will remain in Oakland, creating an awkward situation where die-hard fans are cheering for a team that is getting set to pack up and leave.
At the end of the day, the No-Fun-League once again demonstrated that the fans don’t matter, nor do the communities economically impacted by franchises moving. Once again, the only thing that mattered was how the NFL could line its pockets with even more cash.
