Raiders’ move to Vegas shows ugly truth
The Oakland Raiders are officially moving to Las Vegas, showcasing yet another perfect example of greed in sports—and particularly the NFL.
Constructing the new stadium in Vegas is projected to cost $1.9 billion. Taxpayers, regardless of whether or not they live in Nevada, will be shelling out $750 million to pay for the Raiders’ new home, complete with retractable roof and state-of-the-art facilities. And just like that, we were signed up to foot the massive bill—without a say or a vote—by officials that most of us never elected.
The reason why this is even happening is that the city of Oakland is unwilling to build a new stadium for the Raiders, just like how the Chargers moved to Los Angeles because of the city of San Diego being unwilling to build them a new stadium.
These cities are virtually held hostage by billionaire team owners who are part of multi-billion dollar leagues. For some reason, the majority of the costs of building these monstrous stadiums ends up with the state while the majority of its generated revenue goes to the owner and the league.
This is a huge problem that has really shown itself in the last two years with the movement of three NFL teams and the start of a new hockey team, also in Vegas. The commissioners of each league need to take a hard look at how they do business with the cities they live in.
If they truly care about the fans and their communities like they claim to, they would change the way they conduct contract talks with the city. Shouldering more of the load for the stadiums would not only be a great look, it would also open up more markets that cannot pay for a stadium.
While property taxes and bringing in new customers for restaurants and hotels is something that comes with the team, it reaches nowhere near the cost of building a stadium. The NFL finally showed their true colors, and it was all green.
I think everybody would feel differently if the “stadium funding” question were put to them like this:
Do you think all the Resorts in Nevada raising their rates by about $1 per night in order to bring the NFL to Las Vegas would be a good idea?
I’d wager most, if not all, of them would say “sure”. The NFL is putting in 300 million. Mark Davis 200 million. Bank of America is financing 650 million. Resorts are adding $1 per night to their rooms which is the “tax” the media keeps alluding to in order to raise 750 million. The residents of Nevada will not be charged a penny. And even with the added $1 per night in room taxes, Las Vegas is STILL below that of other major destinations as far as “room taxes” go. And the Bill that provides for the $1 per night also expands police funding and expands the Las Vegas Convention Center to make it more competitive for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Convention, and Exhibition) business.
This is a city that has reinvented itself time and time again and understands how to invest for growth. This time is no different. What better way to expand the NFL’s fan base than to drop an iconic brand (The Raiders) into the heart of one of the top tourist destinations in the world!!!?? Final Fours, Bowl games, concerts, MLS, etc…..will all use this state of the art facility!
AND, Free Agents move all the time…..sports is, after all, a business. Shouldn’t owners be afforded the same luxury? Listen to Cowherd’s thoughts…..spot on. Its no different that any business that shuts down money losing locations. The Raiders stadium in Oakland was a revenue destroyer. The Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas will be a revenue generator that will allow the team to be more competitive.
Listen to this and see if you disagree: