SAN FRANCISCO – As NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in his Super Bowl press conference on Friday, Raiders owner Mark Davis “has a lot of options” regarding where the Raiders could play in the long term.
Las Vegas is one of them. Davis went to Sin City in late January to explore stadium prospects near UNLV, where investors are proposing to build a $1 billion-plus football facility.
Davis wouldn’t elaborate on his visit or his meeting with Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman Sheldon Aldelson, saying only “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
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Despite the NFL’s public neutrality regarding Las Vegas’ prospects as a viable market, the league has been adverse to Nevada’s legalization of sports gambling.
Davis believes Las Vegas is a future option for his Raiders.
“It’s absolutely possible,” Davis said on Friday. “There’s a timing issue. That’s the element you have to put on it.”
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Moving to Las Vegas would have to come at the right time, with the proper climate among league owners. Davis believes it would work well for the Raiders.
“It’s an international city,” Davis said. “It’s a global city and the Raiders are a global brand. It has potential.”
