The Oakland Raiders have filed for relocation to Las Vegas, the NFL announced Thursday.
It’s far from a done deal that the team will move to Las Vegas; however, the process of officially relocating has begun even if there are many hurdles still to clear. The biggest being a vote among NFL owners with approval from at least 24 of the 32. That vote is expected to be held in March.
The Raiders have been hunting for a new stadium for many years, with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum now over 50 years old. The stadium was built in 1966 and has housed both the Raiders and MLB’s Oakland Athletics, but efforts to find a new home for the Raiders have come up short.
What makes Las Vegas especially attractive for the Raiders is $750 million of already approved public money toward a new stadium in the city to host the team.
There has been a recent push in Oakland for a new stadium fronted by former Raiders safety Ronnie Lott that would create a new home for the team on land jointly owned by the county and city. However, that push hasn’t garnered much momentum and the Raiders are looking elsewhere for a stadium.
In 2016, the Raiders applied for relocation to Los Angeles, but the Rams were given approval for the move while the Chargers were given an option to join the Rams, which they eventually accepted.