During the Mike Ditka Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame weekend, Mark Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders, was in town. The event focuses on honoring players based on their career achievements as well as raise money for older NFL players who are now retired and dealing with mental or physical ailments. Inductees for 2016 included former Raiders, Cliff Branch and Daryle Lamonica, hence the attendance of Davis.
As Davis spent time in Las Vegas, he spoke about the potential for the team to make a move to Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Davis stated that he believes the team will move to Las Vegas but will only be able to do so if the public contribution that has been proposed will remain the same.
Davis stated that the $750 million public contribution is needed then whatever private money can be come up with will also be included. The Raiders owner then stated that they will make sure that a stadium is built in Las Vegas and everyone will be proud of it as it will be a world class facility.
The NFL team owner has spent a great deal of time in Las Vegas as of late, looking at potential sites for a new stadium and meeting with individuals who could make the stadium a reality. Back in April, Davis met with the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee to commit to the project, stating that if public funds are available the team will be committed to the move.
Apart from the funding and the approval of the NFL, the project still must have a location and if the locals of the city will be able to fill 65,000 seats. The Raiders are currently trying to determine if the city has enough to fill the seats of the stadium as the team does not want to rely more on out of towners than residents of the area.
According to Davis, studies are being conducted in the local community to see if the stadium can be filled. The team wants to make the stadium a local thing and not count on people flying in from Oakland to attend games or driving from Los Angeles. A location has been proposed for the stadium at the site of the Riviera, which is set to be demolished. The stadium could be combined with an expansion of the LVCVA on this site. Additional areas are also being considered for the project.