Mark Davis: Raiders' Oakland plan unchanged even if Las Vegas deal OK'd

ByPaul Gutierrez ESPN logo
Sunday, October 16, 2016

ALAMEDA, Calif. --Raiders owner Mark Davis reaffirmed to ESPN.com on Saturday that he plans to play the next two seasons at the Oakland Coliseum, even if the team gets the green light from the NFL to move to Las Vegas.

"We want to bring a Super Bowl championship back to the Bay Area," Davis told ESPN.com.

Davis and the Raiders have the financing plan in place for a $1.9 billion stadium to be built in Las Vegas after the Nevada state legislature on Friday approved a tax plan to raise $750 million toward the project.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is expected to sign the bill Monday, and Davis is expected to be in attendance in Las Vegas. Davis then will travel to Houston for the NFL fall meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to give the league an update on the Raiders' stadium progress, as will the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.

The Raiders then would officially ask for permission to relocate to southern Nevada at the league meetings in January. They would need 24 of the 32 NFL owners to vote in favor of the move.

And that is why Davis wants to assure the other owners and Raiders fans and restate his plan for the team to play in Oakland in 2017 and '18, while the Las Vegas stadium would be under construction. The Raiders already have one-year options for the Coliseum for both of those seasons.

A day earlier, Davis put out a statement in the wake of the Nevada tax plan being approved.

"I would like to thank Governor Sandoval, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, and the members of the Nevada Legislature on this historic day," Davis said. "All parties have worked extremely hard to develop and approve this tremendous stadium project that will serve as a proud new home for the entire Raider Nation."