OAKLAND (KRON) — NFL owners are expected to vote the Oakland Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas on Monday during next week’s owners’ meetings, according to ESPN.
One owner, who wished to remain anonymous, told ESPN’s Dan Graziano that a vote next week is “more probable than not.” The NFL meetings begin Sunday in Phoenix and run through March 29.
The move must be approved by 24 of the 32 league’s owners to make it official.
In January, Raiders owner Mark Davis filed an application to move the team to Las Vegas in time for the 2020 season.
The Raiders have also reportedly found new financing for the proposed $1.9 billion stadium in Las Vegas through Bank of America. This comes after billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs withdrew from the deal.
Owner Mark Davis has been pushing for the team to move to Las Vegas. He’s already filed for trademarks for the phrase “Las Vegas Raiders.”
The City of Oakland along with Mayor Libby Schaaf is hoping to keep the team in The Town. But with city officials struggling to compete with the deals in place with Vegas politicians, the chances of keeping the Silver and Black are beginning to look slim.
For years, the Raiders have said they needed a new stadium; their current home opened in 1966 and is the only facility shared by a baseball and football franchise. Under Davis’ father, Hall of Fame owner Al Davis, the Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, then returned to the East Bay in 1995.
Should the Raiders be allowed to move to Nevada, it would be the third relocation approval in one year. The Rams moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles last year and are building a $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood. The Chargers last week announced their relocation to LA and will be a tenant in that new stadium, scheduled to open in 2019.