Sunday, March 6, 2016

Raiders in Las Vegas and other options for Mike Davis

Las Vegas is not the place you would go during Lent...that much is certain.  And that is the reason none of the major professional sports leagues have been willing to locate a team there.  Las Vegas is still one of the fastest growing metro areas in the United States, and is now the largest such area in the US without a major sports franchise.

In spite of this, and the fact that a stadium could be built there without any public funds, do not expect the NFL to go there willingly.  They say, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, however, it is much different when you live there.  And it is all exacerbated when you have young men who are making good money for the first time in their lives and don't know what to do with their extra time.

Eight of the top 15 employers in Las Vegas are involved in the gambling industry.  However, that is not all that is in Sin City.  It is also the western hub for Southwest Airlines, the second largest airline in the United States.  Wal Mart, Target and Home Depot have distribution centers there.  Health Care, like many cities in the southwest, is large because the mild climate and low cost of living is attractive to retirees.  But the percentage of people who work in the gaming industry is very high, and many people feel without others visiting the city to gamble, there wouldn't be much there at all.

But that is not really the reason behind the lack of support in going to Lav Vegas.  The real question is this, will athletes be able to keep out of trouble if we put a team there?  In this day and age, could this still be a reason to continue to shun Las Vegas.  After all, athletes in trouble makes headlines regularly.

Commercial casinos are now legal in 17 states.  12 of these 17 states are currently the home to NFL franchises.  However, in most of these states, gaming casinos are not right next door to the NFL stadiums.  In Colorado, for example, casinos can be found in old mining towns and on the reservation, not right across the street from Investco Field at Mile High, and really, now where near Denver.  Most states that have commercial gaming restrict the territory, making them destination sites.  The NFL allows its players to gamble, but limits what activities they can do.  Outside of former Colt Art Schliester and former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartalo, Jr, the NFL has been relatively free of gambling controversies.

It is hard to say if gambling would be a problem if an NFL team came to Las Vegas.  But the temptation would certainly be there.  But there are other temptations in Sin City.  Prostitution is legal, and Nevada is the only state where it is.  All of this could lead to greater problems with domestic violence, which is something that the NFL needs less of.

However, what Las Vegas needs is a more diversified economy.  When the overall economy of the US is suffering, Las Vegas suffers as well, especially now that there are options for most Americans to gamble closer to home.  An NFL franchise, or an NBA, MLB, NHL or MLS franchise would help legitimize the city and attract more non-gaming business to the city.  Las Vegas needs this more than anything else right now.  Las Vegas would also be a great place to hold the Super Bowl, as there are plenty of hotels around town.

There are probably other options for the Raiders if they are unable to build a stadium in Oakland.  They could share the Rams new facility.  There are other proposed stadiums in the Los Angeles area that could work for the Raiders.  If the Chargers abandon San Diego, the Raiders could locate there.  They could build in the Central Valley, in either Sacramento or Fresno.  There are also a half dozen other cities around the country that the Raiders could move to, like Portland, Salt Lake, San Antonio, Birmingham, or Southern Virginia.  There is even room for a third franchise in the New York area, perhaps one that actually has a stadium in one of the Five Burroughs.  Finally, they could locate north of the border in either Vancouver or Toronto.  And for that matter, could even move to Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara.

However, let me pitch one final idea.  Let's move the Warriors out of Oakland after this season.  There is a new area going up in San Francisco for the Warriors, let's move them to the SAP Center in San Jose, home of the NHL's Sharks.  Then immediately after the NBA season is finished (and for the Warriors, it looks like it will be early June this year) raise the Oracle Arena and begin construction on a new stadium for the Raiders.  Once the Raiders are able to move out of O.co, then the stadium can be permanently remodeled as a baseball only facility for the Athletics.

However, what makes sense rarely happens and it will be fun to see how this all plays out.

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