Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis hasn't yet given up on relocation. Even after Rams owner Stan Kroenke's Inglewood project was chosen by the NFL's owners to be the league's Los Angeles venture, Davis holds out hope that he can possibly find a new home for his franchise.
Only, Davis doesn't want the Raiders in Los Angeles anymore.
He's thinking Las Vegas.
"I think the Raiders would maximize Las Vegas," Davis said, speaking to reporters at the NFL's owner's meetings this week.
But this isn't the first time that Davis has championed Sin City as a potential future home for the Raiders or, really, any NFL franchise. In February, Davis dubbed Las Vegas "an NFL city," laying out a number of reasons for why he believes a team would thrive there.
"It's an international city," Davis said. "It's a global city. Again, the Raiders are a global brand, so it's got potential."
On Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the potential for a Raiders move to Las Vegas, saying that the league would first "have to understand," what the ramifications would be.
Las Vegas already has a stadium initiative in motion, with billionaire casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson bankrolling a $1 billion sports arena. While the plan has been for the NHL to potentially put a team there, an NFL franchise would no doubt create millions in revenue.
There are plenty of stumbling blocks though, including the league's uncertain stance on gambling and sports betting. The NFL prohibits players and team employees from visiting casinos during the season that offer sports gambling - it's hard to envision the league wanting to deal with the potential headache of monitoring the movements of an entire organization in the sports betting capital of the world.
But Davis, who visited Las Vegas recently, has other options as well, as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell noted.
One of those cities, San Antonio, has drawn plenty of interest from Davis in the past. Davis though, sounds like a man who knows what he wants - and what he wants is Las Vegas.
Really, what he wants is a new stadium deal in Oakland. That hasn't been easy to get accomplished though, as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff has taken a hardline stance regarding funds for a Raiders or Oakland A's deal.
There are plenty of moving parts to the equation and Las Vegas is only one of a number of potential landing spots should Davis finally pull the trigger on a move - San Diego is another if the Chargers jump to L.A. by 2017 - but it sure sounds like Davis thinks Vegas would be an ideal place for his franchise.
