April 29th, 2016 
Michael Loede 
Posted in 
As things heat up in Chicago entering the second day of the 2016 NFL Draft, the news that the Oakland Raiders could land in Sin City is heating up as well. Raider owner Mark Davis meet with officials of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee (SNTIC) during the week, and what seemed little more than just a thought has inched closer to a reality after the meeting. Davis was all smiles as he posed with fans behind a black and silver “Las Vegas Raiders” banner. After making a few light jokes, he then delivered a $500 million commitment to a new stadium in the city for his team. Davis was quoted saying that “Let’s give them an offer they can’t refuse, they’re going to approve it based on that.” He went on to state “We need a home. We need a stadium, that’s what Las Vegas is going to provide us and it’s going to be a great marriage.”
At times during the meeting of the SNTIC, it looked like the love affair had started already. There were few pointed questions from committee members, and at one point Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was gushing in her love and support for the team. Davis talked about building on the legacy of his dad, the late Al Davis, and finally giving the team a new stadium to match those of the “richer” teams in the league. He insisted he wasn’t trying to use Las Vegas as a bargaining chip, and spoke of a “lifetime” commitment to the city. At the end of the carefully staged presentation that featured soccer star David Beckham sitting next to him, he said the future is bright for both the city and his team. It seems that the meeting created more momentum for billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, who is trying to secure the move of the Raiders to Las Vegas. Davis confirmed that “This is real, we are not using Vegas as a bargaining chip.”
Meanwhile, over in Chicago Thursday night, with the 14th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected West Viginia Mountaineers safety Karl Joseph.
Stay tuned to WWW.RAIDERSGAB.COM for more on the potential move to Las Vegas, and a complete re-cap of the Raiders 2016 Draft picks.
It’d be great to see the Raiders move to Vegas.