Roger Goodell isn’t dismissing Las Vegas as a potential home for an NFL franchise when asked about Raiders owner Mark Davis’ interest in moving his team there, but says that the Raiders need to look at other options:
They need to evaluate those alternatives. I think their ultimate decision is a long ways off. There are several cities that have a tremendous interest in the Raiders. I’m hopeful also that Oakland will be one of those and that we can avoid any relocation to start with. Those are ultimately decisions about where they go and the impact that the potential gambling that we’d have to deal with.
Traditionally, the NFL has strongly opposed the idea of America’s gambling capital hosting a franchise. The Raiders have spent years trying to build a new stadium in Oakland, and the team made a failed attempt to build a stadium with the San Diego Chargers in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. The NFL In January instead gave the St. Louis Rams approval to move to the Los Angeles market and gave the Chargers the option to move in with the Rams at an eventual new stadium in Inglewood.
According to the NYTimes, there are several problems with this plan:
Many owners, though, rejected the idea of a team in Las Vegas because of the taint of gambling. Several of them said at the league’s annual meeting that they preferred that the Raiders remain in the Bay Area because of the team’s long history there, and because it was an affluent region and a top media market.
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