Roger Goodell just pumped the brakes on the Raiders' potential move to Las Vegas
Roger Goodell is not yet sold on the Raiders' potential move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Speaking from the Vikings' new stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday night, the NFL commissioner said a lot has to happen before any possible relocation. Last week, the South Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee voted unanimously to recommend a financing proposal for a $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat stadium in downtown Las Vegas for the Raiders.
"There's still a lot that has to happen before we would get to that stage," Goodell said of the Raiders move, according to Pro Football Talk. "Recognizing that they came out of committee with a bill, but there's still a lot of work to be done to improve that recommendation."
Goodell added that organizations struggling to build new stadiums in their current location should look to the Vikings, who managed to construct a new stadium in Minneapolis to replace the Metrodome in large part because of the $500 million in public funding that the city provided.
"Well, you never want to see a community lose their franchise once, much less twice," Goodell said. "The Minnesota community did that in a great way. I think we can do it in Oakland. I think there's a solution there, but it takes the community to help identify it."
Considering that St. Louis has lost two football franchises (the Rams and the Cardinals), there's plenty of irony to be found in Goodell's quote. Still, it's noteworthy that Goodell is publicly advocating for the Raiders to stay in Oakland, especially as momentum appears to be moving in the direction of Las Vegas.
Raiders' owner Mark Davis would need 23 other owners to approve the move. In Goodell's mind, right now, that's still a long shot.