Oakland Raiders Officially Apply for Move to Las Vegas

BAY AREA, CA – UPDATE: THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 11:45 a.m.

The Oakland Raiders officially filed paperwork with the National Football League today seeking permission to move to Las Vegas, the NFL confirmed.

"The application will be reviewed in the coming weeks by league staff and the stadium and finance committees," NFL officials said in a statement.

The move would require approval by three-fourths of the league's 32 team owners.

The Raiders have been seeking a new stadium for years, most recently being turned down for a proposed move to Los Angeles. The team has been talking to officials in Nevada for months about potentially building a
stadium in Las Vegas and the state has pledged up to $750 million in new hotel tax revenue.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has vowed not to use public money for the construction of a new stadium, though did propose a deal that would provide $200 million in unspecified infrastructure costs.

That proposal, which would be largely bankrolled by an investment group headed by former San Francisco 49ers star Ronnie Lott, was approved by the Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last month, but so far the team has shown little interest in it.

The Lott group released a statement today saying that the application to relocate was an expected move by the Raiders in order to keep their option open but the Lott group remains "diligently focused" on keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

They said they will be providing more data about their proposal to the team and the NFL.

"The more we work on this project, the more convicted we are that Oakland is the right place for the Raiders," officials with the Lott group said in the statement.

"In one of the top 5 markets in the country, with a new, world-class stadium and an updated transit hub, we believe the Oakland Coliseum site will be one of the very best mixed use developments/sports complex in the country -- providing superior value and fan experience to the Raiders and the NFL," they said.

If approved, the Raiders' departure could mark an exodus for Oakland sports teams, with the Golden State Warriors breaking ground earlier this week on a new arena in San Francisco. The Oakland A's have also been
seeking relocation for years, but bids to move to Fremont and San Jose have been fruitless.

The group Save Oakland Sports started a petition on Change.org urging the NFL to reject the Raiders' application and to keep the team in Oakland, arguing that the team is well-supported financially, selling out
every game in the team's resurgent 2016 season.

The petition had more than 1,200 signatures as of late this morning. It is available at
https://www.change.org/p/nfl-tell-nfl-front-office-nfl-team-owners-not-to-approve-relocation-of-the-oakland-raiders.

Representatives of the Raiders and the mayor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment today.

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THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 10:42 a.m.

The Oakland Raiders officially filed paperwork with the National Football League today seeking permission to move to Las Vegas, the NFL confirmed.

"The application will be reviewed in the coming weeks by league staff and the stadium and finance committees," NFL officials said in a statement.

The move would require approval by three-fourths of the league's 32 team owners.

The Raiders have been seeking a new stadium for years, most recently being turned down for a proposed move to Los Angeles. The team has been talking to officials in Nevada for months about potentially building a
stadium in Las Vegas and the state has pledged up to $750 million in new hotel tax revenue.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has vowed not to use public money for the construction of a new stadium, though did propose a deal that would provide $200 million in unspecified infrastructure costs.

That proposal, which would be largely bankrolled by an investment group headed by former San Francisco 49ers star Ronnie Lott, was approved by the Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last month, but so far the team has shown little interest in it.

Representatives of the Raiders and the mayor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment today.

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