We’ve known for some time that the Minnesota Vikings are no longer a candidate for NFL relocation…thank you, U.S. Bank Stadium…but since there really isn’t a whole lot going on with our favorite team at the moment, we can take a bit to see what’s going on with the rest of the league.
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“Correspondingly, the Sands leadership team let us know that officials from the Oakland Raiders are scheduled to travel to Las Vegas and tour locations around the valley for a potential new home, and they have asked us to meet them at our 42-acre site on Friday morning to answer questions about that site”.
If Mark Davis’ Raiders get shut out of Los Angeles, Las Vegas might be an option. Those standards are well-known, having just been applied in connection with relocation proposals to Los Angeles.
The stadium was proposed Thursday by a group led by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., would have at least 65,000 seats on property owned by UNLV.
But it’s unlikely the league would approve a move to Vegas, according to experts.
The under construction T-Mobile Arena, a $375 million project from MGM Resorts International, is the possible venue for a professional hockey team in Las Vegas.
After this relocation dance with the Chargers and the Raiders is over, there’s probably going to be a lull until the league inevitably attempts to expand overseas, likely to London. Davis’ lease with O.co Coliseum in Oakland ends next month as he seeks a new home.
The AFC West outfit are without a stadium for next season and had previously considered a move to Los Angeles before the St Louis Rams won tenancy of a proposed new stadium.
The Chargers now have until January 15, 2017 to decide whether or not to move the franchise to Los Angeles.
With the Raiders relocated to the south – their intensely loyal SoCal fan base well within driving distance – and the already popular Rams as their neighbors, the Chargers would be caught in a classic squeeze play, their chances of truly developing an L.A. fan base even more paltry than they are now.
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Regardless, Yahoo Sports says that there is no rule against an National Football League team moving to Vegas and no owner has given it much serious thought yet. The Chargers purchased land for team headquarters and a practice facility in Orange County last week.
