NFL Relocations and League Expansion

[Exe Gesis]

FOX Las Vegas reports Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is looking to spearhead a project to build a $1 billion, domed football stadium "with or without a team."

The stadium would be built on 42 acres of land recently purchased by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It would reportedly be a "public-private partnership," with the developers possibly requesting that "funds from hotel room taxes be diverted to the project." The news comes the same day that word leaked Raiders owner Mark Davis will be visiting the city to survey the site on Friday. The NFL's queasiness about gambling would be a major hurdle to relocating a team to the Nevada desert.

Source: FOX Las Vegas

 

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Top Raiders brass will reportedly visit Las Vegas on Friday to scout a potential stadium site.

The reports are all a bit secondhand, but are based on a memo from University of Nevada Las Vegas president Len Jessup. Owner Mark Davis said he would neither confirm nor deny the report. With stadium efforts going exactly nowhere in Oakland, and Davis dead set against a move to St. Louis, Vegas is a highly interesting wild card option. The town has long been desperate for a professional team of any kind, but faced resistance as the American hub of legalized gambling.

Source: Paul Gutierrez on Twitter

 

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The Union-Tribune San Diego's Kevin Acee reports the Chargers have acquired land in Orange County, and are expected to use it for their headquarters and practice facility if they follow through on moving to Los Angeles.

Rumors about the Bolts partnering up with Stan Kroenke in Inglewood have been all over the map, but a move is looking more and more likely. It could be only a matter of days before the Chargers confirm they're leaving San Diego.

Source: Kevin Acee on Twitter

 

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[Exe Gesis]

Death Valley Raiders
West Coast Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders

in that order, imo

 

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Raiders To Explore Move To Las Vegas
January 28th, 2016 at 7:46pm CST by Zach Links
7:46pm: Davis will meet with Adelson on Friday to potentially discuss stadium details. Las Vegas Sands leads a group of investors proposing to build a $1 billion domed stadium near UNLV that would be the Rebels football team’s new home and possibly an NFL franchise’s as well, Howard Stutz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Las Vegas Sands has had conversations with other teams as well, senior vice president of government relations and community development Andy Abboud told Stutz.

“We are moving forward with the stadium concept with or without an NFL team,” Abboud said. “We see a lot more opportunities — conference championships, bowl games, NFL exhibition football, boxing, soccer, neutral site games, and music festivals. There is an entire

segment out there. Nothing will move that needle like a new world-class stadium.”

Las Vegas Sands will pitch this idea to the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee in February or March, Stutz reports.

7:32pm: The Raiders’ interest in a Las Vegas move is “very real,” Cole reports (on Twitter). Davis and Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson have been discussing this for two years. The team’s been playing on one-year leases at O.co Coliseum in that time span and is negotiating another short-term arrangement in Oakland for this season.

6:50pm: Raiders owner Mark Davis offered an emphatic no-comment on a potential relocation to Las Vegas, via Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter).

4:44pm: Could the Oakland Raiders turn into the Las Vegas Raiders? It’s at least a consideration for Raiders management and a Las Vegas-area group, according to UNLV president Len Jessup (via Ralston Reports).

Jessup sent a note to a small group of UNLV-related people on Thursday to let them know that the Las Vegas Sands is pushing to build a brand new stadium in Southern Nevada for the school. Meanwhile, Sands leadership will host Raiders officials in Las Vegas to check out their “potential new home.” For his part, Jessup says that he would be very interested in a partnership with the Raiders.

“Certainly, if a public-private partnership can be forged that includes the development of a new special events stadium on the 42-acre site that has little or no cost to UNLV…then it is something we would look at very seriously,” Jessup said in the letter.

Of course, it remains to be seen exactly how serious the Raiders are about a potential Las Vegas move. Also, the NFL might be wary about moving a team to Las Vegas, particularly given the PR issues they have had in recent years. Trips to Las Vegas could lead to trouble for NFL players and the league will probably also have concerns about placing a team in a gambling hotbed.

When asked about the possibility of putting a team in Las Vegas in January of 2015, Roger Goodell did not totally dismiss the idea.

“I haven’t had any dialogue with officials in Las Vegas about how that could happen successfully for Las Vegas and for the NFL,” Goodell said. “A stadium would be a big component to that. I’m not sure that exists right now. I do understand the passion of the fans in Las Vegas and their interest in football.”

 

[Exe Gesis]

NFL opposed to Las Vegas as a franchise site?

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More at the link -- http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/columns-blogs/ed-graney/las-vegas-raiders-has-catchy-ring-it

It was at this time last year in a ballroom at the Phoenix Convention Center when Roger Goodell was posed a familiar question at his annual state of the league address at the Super Bowl: Did the commissioner think Las Vegas could sustain an NFL team?

"I certainly can't speak to that because I haven't had any dialogue with officials in Las Vegas about how that could happen successfully for Las Vegas and for the NFL," Goodell said. "A stadium would be a big component to that. I'm not sure that exists right now. I do understand the passion of the fans in Las Vegas and their interest in football."

He is about to understand it at a level incomparable to the past.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis is scheduled to meet with Las Vegas Sands Corporation Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson on Friday in Las Vegas, where the main topic is expected to center on a proposed $1 billion-plus domed stadium near the Las Vegas Strip, a public-private partnership between Las Vegas Sands and a group of investors.

 

[Exe Gesis]

The NFL produces and maintains an hourly injury report to satisfy one industry...Vegas. But they don't want to look like they are in bed with them. The NFL is probably a bigger crook than Vegas.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Why is Mark looking in Vegas the Dude is offering 42 acres when Libby put 60 acres on the table that cheap Bastered is just looking for someone to Build everything for him.
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That is exactly the crux of it. Cutting thru all the BS. Mark is a cheapskate.
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True. Hard to unpack how his mind works. He's got the kind of money that buys the nicer things, assumes a lifestyle, and he flies Southwest carrying his own duffle, drives a conversion van with a pop down vhs. Never wanted for nothing, but lives likes he's poor. strange cat.
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Cheapskate? Try and imagine what a billion dollars looks like. This isn't the toy you want at the store.
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He can sell a share of his team tho to a billionaire who CAN self-finance a stadium in Oakland. Who is Mark going to hand the team down to? That's why he isn't thinking ahead like he should be. The Raiders legacy. It ought to be cemented in Oakland, long after the Davis family no longer owns a stake in the team after having all passed away.
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You actually think Mark is thinking of his legacy? I don't see a man thinking past his next order of wings at the bar. His moves defy logic let alone sane estate planning.
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The league does not want anyone self financing a stadium. The league does not want to set this precedent.
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The league just allowed Kroenke to self-finance a stadium. So, no. Actually, the league has been DYING for somebody to self-finance a stadium in LA, because LA refused to publicly fund a stadium. That's why the NFL could never return to LA until Kroenke.
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My understanding from the press surrounding the deal is that LA is a unique creature. Either way, the league still doesn't want to set that precedent.
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They want more billionaire welfare
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The whole "public funding of stadiums" is slowly gradually going to disappear, as more and more cities ridicule and object to the billionaire owners who make a mockery of them....forcing them to pay for a stadium, that then charges them extra for tickets, PSLs, and food/beverages inside the stadium.
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One would hope you are correct. Unfortunately, as long as one municipality is willing to pay for a team, the rest are disadvantaged. Stand together or hang separately.
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The number of "leverage cities" has almost disappeared now. LA was the big leverage to force that public funding.
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Vegas has a billionaires ready, carson had billionaires ready, st louis is ready san antone probably has billionaires ready oakland has floyd kephardt. You thinm marks dumb, but who would b dumb enough to sell when theres people willing to pay for a billion dollar stadium for u in different areas? Thatd b pretty dumb.
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They'll build a billion dollar stadium IF the they get a share of ownership. No one's going to just build a stadium FOR Mark. Also, the Vegas stadium is already being proposed for UNLV, not for an NFL team. Just the stadium would be NFL-ready, and thus could get an NFL team to relocate there and share with the Rebels. Again, the billionaire funding the build would want ownership stake in that NFL team.
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Ownership stake, not controlling interest, he can get that in vegas, st louis, and probably san antone. Would u pick those or dirt stadium till a knigh in shining armour billionaire comes out of the ashes and rescues mark?
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Ownership stake will = controlling interest. It's a way to buy into full ownership of a team. That's how Kroenke ended up owning the Rams fully. You buy a large stake, keep buying, buy out other partner owners. Especially when it comes down to getting a billionaire to put the money up for a stadium as THE reason why you're soliciting his involvement....he'll demand controlling interest.

 

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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 19m19 minutes ago

#Raiders owner Mark Davis is in Las Vegas now to meet with Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson about his support of a stadium in town.

‏@RapSheet
.@NFL has no comment on the #Raiders' Las Vegas meeting. There is no rule against approving a franchise to any location. It's 3/4 owner vote

--
see ya Oakland!

 

[Exe Gesis]

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports Raiders owner Mark Davis is currently in Las Vegas on Friday morning meeting with Sands casino chairman Sheldon Adelson about his support of an NFL stadium in town.

This whole Raiders-to-Las Vegas story has been coming pretty rapidly over the past 24 hours, and Bleacher Reports' Jason Cole, who's been following this relocation thing pretty closely, reports the Raiders moving to Sin City is "very real." It's obviously not going to happen this year, but Davis has nothing to do but try and find viable solutions for his franchise after it drew the shortest stick at the Owners' Meetings earlier this month. The O.co Coliseum simply isn't functional any longer. Adelson reportedly wants to build a $1 billion dome in Vegas with or without a team.

Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter

 

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[Great8]

Chargers are staying in San Diego for another year apparantly

 

[Exe Gesis]

Chargers president Dean Spanos said the team will remain in San Diego through at least the 2016 season.

"Today I decided our team will stay in San Diego for the 2016 season," Spanos said in a statement. "I look forward to working to resolve our stadium dilemma. We have an agreement to go to Inglewood in the next year, but my focus is on San Diego." The Chargers will stay in San Diego for at least this year and continue to work on a new stadium. Spanos has until January 2017 to exercise a move to Los Angeles.

Source: chargers.com

 

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Today I decided our team will stay in San Diego for the 2016 season and I hope for the long term in a new stadium.

I have met with Mayor Faulconer and Supervisor Roberts and I look forward to working closely with them and the business community to resolve our stadium dilemma. We have an option and an agreement with the Los Angeles Rams to go to Inglewood in the next year, but my focus is on San Diego.

This has been our home for 55 years, and I want to keep the team here and provide the world-class stadium experience you deserve.

Everyone on both sides of the table in San Diego must now determine the best next steps and how to deploy the additional resources provided by the NFL.

I am committed to looking at this with a fresh perspective and new sense of possibility.

With deep appreciation for your years of support,

Dean A. Spanos
Chairman

 

[offtherails9]

Today I decided our team will stay in San Diego for the 2016 season and I hope for the long term in a new stadium.

I have met with Mayor Faulconer and Supervisor Roberts and I look forward to working closely with them and the business community to resolve our stadium dilemma. We have an option and an agreement with the Los Angeles Rams to go to Inglewood in the next year, but my focus is on San Diego.

This has been our home for 55 years, and I want to keep the team here and provide the world-class stadium experience you deserve.

Everyone on both sides of the table in San Diego must now determine the best next steps and how to deploy the additional resources provided by the NFL.

I am committed to looking at this with a fresh perspective and new sense of possibility.

With deep appreciation for your years of support,

Dean A. Spanos
Chairman

Seems like a stupid decision.. thoughts GG?

 

[Exe Gesis]

Spanos is still moving to LA in 2017 while deciding to use San Diego for one more season in 2016. Really stupid decision. Fans wont be that duped. Using the extra time to negotiate more with Stan regarding tenancy clauses and time to build LA HQ in Orange County, etc.

Just have to read between the lines of these two back-to-back reports....

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The Union-Tribune San Diego reports the Chargers have reached an agreement to share a stadium with the Rams in Inglewood (CA).

This agreement will allow the Chargers to relocate to L.A., though owner Dean Spanos hasn't decided when or if that move will happen. The Bolts have until January 17, 2017 to exercise their option to move. It's possible Spanos could exercise that option immediately, allowing the Chargers to begin play in Los Angeles later this year. The Union-Tribune reported Thursday that the Chargers purchased land in Orange County, where the team will likely build its practice facility and club headquarters. The Chargers' eventual move to L.A. seems inevitable at this point, though it may not happen in 2016.

Source: Union-Tribune San Diego

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Chargers president Dean Spanos said the team will remain in San Diego through at least the 2016 season.

"Today I decided our team will stay in San Diego for the 2016 season," Spanos said in a statement. "I look forward to working to resolve our stadium dilemma. We have an agreement to go to Inglewood in the next year, but my focus is on San Diego." Spanos has until January 2017 to exercise a move to Los Angeles.

Source: chargers.com

 

[Exe Gesis]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...eached-rams-long-term-solution-not-worked-out

snippet...

According to the relocation agreement between the teams, the Chargers have a one-year window that ends on Jan. 15, 2017, to move to Los Angeles as the second team at the Inglewood project, which is set to be completed by the 2019 season. The Chargers can extend that option to Jan. 15, 2018, if a referendum for public financing in San Diego is not approved before Nov. 15 of this year.

 

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[larkis]

At least there is going to be a new record for cheapest tickets, lowest attendance and biggest joke this season.

Also is there anything preventing Mark Davis to tell the NFL to * themselves and sell a share of the team to MarShawn Lynch? Was thinking what would be the funniest thing in the NFL and just to see Mark Davis slowly sell to Lynch, cement his ties in Oakland, change the stadium to a car park and eventually have the majority owner be Lynch who'll turn the owners meetings into a joke and watch everyone love him for it.

 

[Exe Gesis]

What Jed York said on the Rich Eisen show ...

“It’s up to the Raiders where they want to go with things. I know they’ve been focused on Oakland. I don’t want to speak for Mark Davis,” York said. “We obviously built the stadium in Santa Clara for potentially two teams. But the NFL certainly isn’t forcing that. We sort of approached that at the very outset before we got a vote from the people of Santa Clara.

“It’s really up to the Raiders to decide what they want to do. If they want to sit down, we’re always happy to sit down and try to figure something out. But we’re not trying to put pressure on them. I know the league isn’t. And Mark needs to figure out what he wants to do, and we’ll be supportive of that, whatever that means.”

 

[Exe Gesis]

Something I hadn't thought of:

"However, I think that the city of Las Vegas, the county of Clark and the state of Nevada will try to block this endeavor. The reason being is that any game that the Raider's play will be blocked from bets being placed on that game. You can't even bet on the UNLV Rebel games. I wonder if the lost revenue will be a factor in whether this becomes a reality or not."

Yep, one of the hosts made that point today on SD radio. 16 games a year that you cant bet on.

 

[Exe Gesis]

What Jed York said on the Rich Eisen show ...

“It’s up to the Raiders where they want to go with things. I know they’ve been focused on Oakland. I don’t want to speak for Mark Davis,” York said. “We obviously built the stadium in Santa Clara for potentially two teams. But the NFL certainly isn’t forcing that. We sort of approached that at the very outset before we got a vote from the people of Santa Clara.

“It’s really up to the Raiders to decide what they want to do. If they want to sit down, we’re always happy to sit down and try to figure something out. But we’re not trying to put pressure on them. I know the league isn’t. And Mark needs to figure out what he wants to do, and we’ll be supportive of that, whatever that means.”

I've always maintained we'll end up there.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Chargers players to San Diego fans: Every game better be sold out
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 30, 2016, 6:31 AM EST

Getty Images
Shortly after the Chargers announced that they will remain in San Diego for at least one more year, Chargers players gave San Diego fans a message: You’d better support us.

Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram and wide receiver Keenan Allen took to Twitter and wrote that if San Diego wants to prove it deserves the Chargers, the fans should buy up every ticket.

“Staying in San Diego 4 another year..Every home game better be sold out..Charger blue everywhere Fans got what they wanted Now come support,” Ingram wrote.

Added Allen, “So it’s looks like we are going to be in San Diego for another season. The stadium better be packed. The fans got what they wanted. Now let’s see sell outs every home game! And not the other teams colors!”

That did not go over well with Chargers fans, who replied to the players on Twitter to say they’ve been loyal to the team for decades. Replies included:

“We’ve been supporting for over 50 years, bro. Stupid tweet.”

“Just send out another tweet and apologize dude. That was stupid and if you don’t get why fans have been mad…different story.”

“Might be kinda cool if y’all win more than 4 games though I mean if you want fans to show up.”

“Do you know how tone deaf you sound?”

It does sound tone deaf, especially when the truth is, selling out every game won’t keep the Chargers in San Diego. The only thing that will keep the Chargers in San Diego is the community agreeing to spend more taxpayer money on a stadium. If the city won’t do that, this will be the Chargers’ last year in San Diego.