Oakland Raiders to file relocation papers to move to Las Vegas

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Oakland Raiders are set to file relocation papers to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.

They would need votes from 24 of the league’s owners to make the move official, which won’t come until this Spring. There is reportedly not much resistance from the owners around the league, so it appears likely they will get approval.

If the relocation effort is approved, Mark Davis intends to play in Oakland until the new stadium is built and then make the final move to Vegas.

As for the deal in Vegas, Rapoport said:

There are still questions, including whether or not the Raiders do the deal for the $1.9 billion Las Vegas Stadium project with the help of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson or not. That was the original plan -- the Adelson family would contribute $650 million, the Raiders would contribute $500 million, and there would be $750 million in Clark County hotel room tax revenue. They have not yet come to terms.

Earlier in December, the Raiders presented a plan to NFL owners to finance the stadium with the help from Goldman Sachs advisors. Either option would work.

But the Raiders do hold the Adelson family in the highest regard for everything they've done to advance the project, and it would not be where it is without the family's help. The Raiders would acknowledge that.

It sounds like we’ll need to get used to the idea of saying not only “the Los Angeles Chargers”, but also “the Las Vegas Raiders”.