Oakland Raiders looking to move to Las Vegas

THE NFL’s most notorious franchise has its sights set on Sin City — and David Beckham wants to help make it happen.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and former soccer player David Beckham laugh as they attend a Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting at UNLV.

MARK Davis is going all in on Sin City.

The Raiders owner has pledged to spend $500 million as part of a new stadium plan in an effort to move the presently Oakland-based NFL team to Las Vegas.

Davis visited the city on Thursday in his bid to move the team to Nevada and said Las Vegas “would not be getting a football team, they would be getting everyone who has worn the silver and black for the last 56 years”.

In a surprise move, David Beckham appeared alongside Davis and Las Vegas Sands Corporation head Sheldon Adelson as they seek to win support to build a $1.4 billion domed stadium in the Nevada gambling haven.

Beckham said he hoped to see a Major League Soccer team launch in Las Vegas but insisted he remained committed to setting up his own team in Miami, US media reports said.

Beckham joined Davis in an address to the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee by stressing the benefits that building a sports stadium could have.

“I’m sure there’s many people wondering why I’m here and questioning what my role is here,” Beckham was quoted as saying by Sports Illustrated.

“To bring a great organisation like the Raiders to something like Vegas is incredible, but it’s bigger than that,” Beckham said. “It’s about the MLS coming here, it’s about bringing the biggest European teams here like Manchester United.”

Beckham’s plans to launch an MLS team in Miami have been bogged down by protracted wrangling over where to build a new stadium, although investors last month announced they had purchased land for a venue.

Although final approval for a Miami stadium is far from a done deal, Beckham said in Las Vegas on Thursday he was determined to set up his team in Florida.

“My commitment is to the MLS, I was lucky enough to purchase a franchise and I picked Miami which I’m very proud of, very excited about,” Beckham told SI. “It’s been a long process, I can’t lie, but one that will continue.”

Former Oakland Raiders player Napoleon McCallum poses with Raiders fans as he arrives at a Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meeting.

Meanwhile Davis said Thursday he would pledge $500 million towards the construction of the new stadium, suggesting he hoped to move the Raiders there to turn “the Silver State into the silver and black state”.

The Raiders are on the lookout for a new home after a bid to relocate to Los Angeles foundered earlier this year when the NFL owners opted to send the St Louis Rams back to the California metropolis.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave a cautious response on Wednesday when asked about the possibility of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas.

“We don’t have a proposal,” Goodell said. “Ultimately that is a decision of the ownership. There are owners who will feel very strongly about continuing to support our position on gambling, there will be owners that will have the view of whether that’s the best market for us to be in, whether there’s truly the fan support there, they’ll look at obviously the stadium alternatives, and I think that’s what you do in any relocation.”

Originally published as Oakland Raiders looking to move to Las Vegas