Las Vegas as an NFL City?
There has been a lot of talk in the last few weeks about the possibility of the Oakland Raiders relocating their NFL franchise to Las Vegas. As the conversation has continued, the reality of Las Vegas becoming an NFL city has gained momentum and further possibility.
A couple of things that need to happen are still on the table. First, the city needs to build (and fund) a stadium. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation has been the leader in this conversation and has provided the city with several scenarios that make building and funding a stadium possible. Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Sheldon Adelson met with Raiders owner, Mark Davis at the end of January to discuss the new stadium possibilities.
Second, the NFL would need to approve the relocation. NLF commissioner, Roger Goodell has made it clear that his office will not stand in the way if the other NFL owners approve the move. 24 of the leagues 32 owners must approve the relocation in order for it to be possible.
In our opinion, would the city of Las Vegas benefit from an NFL team inhabiting the city? We feel that it would. People vacation in Las Vegas for one main reason, and that reason is for entertainment. The primary offering of the NFL is exactly that. We feel people would leave the glamour of their Vegas hotels and make the short trip over to watch an NFL matchup on Sundays. Chances are that a majority of people have never been to an NFL game, so this can become another part of their itinerary when planning a trip to Las Vegas.
Football is fun and Vegas is fun. We feel that matching these two together would create another great reason to plan a fall trip to Las Vegas. Plus, the chances of Las Vegas hosting a Super Bowl is a reality. There are certainly enough hotel rooms in Las Vegas to accommodate football's main event.
So, the one question that we do have is will the Oakland Raider change their name if they were to move to Las Vegas? It is very likely that they will be called the Las Vegas Raiders, but we'd like to throw a name into the hat that would be very marketable for the city.
The Las Vegas Blackjacks.
Yes, you heard it here first!