Mark Davis was beaming as he posed with fans behind a black and silver “Las Vegas Raiders” banner. He made a couple of jokes before delivering a $500 million commitment to a brand new stadium within the city for his team. Then the landlord of the Raiders got excited about the prospects of having fellow NFL owners to permit him to transport from Oakland to a city the league has long shunned as it has legal sports betting. “Let’s give them a proposal they can’t refuse,” Davis said. “They’re going to approve it in response to that.”

 Little greater than an concept a couple of months ago, the potential of the Raiders moving to Las Vegas inched a little toward reality Thursday when Davis appeared before a stadium commission not to only pledge to transport the Raiders to the city, but put $500 million into the $1.4 billion facility that might house the team. He mentioned building at the legacy of his father, the late Al Davis, and eventually giving the team a brand new stadium to check those of the richer teams within the league. He insisted he wasn’t looking to use Las Vegas as a bargaining chip, and said a “lifetime” commitment to town. And on the end of a delicately staged presentation that featured soccer star David Beckham sitting next to him, he said the long run is bright for both the town and his team. “We want a home. We'd like a stadium,” Davis said. “That’s what Las Vegas goes to offer us and it’s going to be an ideal marriage.”

At times in the course of the meeting of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, it seemed like the wedding had already begun. There have been few pointed questions from committee members, and at one point Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman was gushing in her love and support for the team. All of it made for good theater, and created much more momentum for billionaire casino operator Sheldon Adelson’s plan to land the team. NFL owners previously have expressed interest and made commitments to transport to other cities, but Davis was attaching a $500 million investment with his plan. “We’re not using Las Vegas as a bargaining chip,” Davis said. “This is real.”

Despite the commitments, there are hurdles to conquer if the dozen or so Raiders fans who showed as much as support the move might be watching their team in Las Vegas in 2020. The 2 biggest are understanding how to siphon room taxes to pay for a large chunk of the project, and gaining approval of 23 other NFL owners to transport. With Davis committed to setting up $500 million — $200 million of that a loan from the NFL fund used for stadium projects — and the Las Vegas Sands offering some money, there's still an opening of $750 million had to build the 65,000-seat stadium.

Stadium backers are proposing the cash come from increased taxes on tourists, though rival casino operators say they should be assured first that there's enough within the pot to fund a large expansion of the city’s convention center collectively. It could also have to be approved by the state Legislature, which they'll ask the governor to name into special session in August for a vote. Even though that happens, the NFL must approve the move. Davis said he hoped to move before the owners by the top of the year and persuade them to drop their longtime opposition to Las Vegas so the Raiders can move. “You’d need to ask them,” Davis said, when asked concerning the opinions of his fellow owners. “I haven’t heard anything. I’ve heard questions, but I haven’t heard an outright ‘No.'”

Davis, whose father moved the Raiders to L. a. and later moved them back, said the team would likely remain in Oakland while the brand new stadium is built, likely for the following three seasons. The team would probably move to Vegas in 2020 from the O.co Coliseum, which was built a half century ago and lacks the fashionable amenities of most NFL stadiums. Raiders President Marc Badain said there was no progress made in recent months with officials in Oakland a couple of new stadium there.

Beckham, who's behind a proposed Miami Major League Soccer franchise, sat next to Davis on the meeting, adding slightly star power in a town that has always embraced stars. “It’s a larger idea, it’s concerning the MLS coming here, it’s about bringing the most important European teams here like Manchester United,” Beckham said. “To have the ability to come here and be a part of this and having the ability to speak this morning is a big honor to myself.'”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell softened at the league’s opposition to Las Vegas in recent weeks, saying it'd be as much as owners whether a team might be in a city that includes legalized sports betting. The NFL has long shunned Las Vegas, refusing its TELEVISION COMMERCIALS and telling players to not make appearances at casinos. However the NFL plays games in London, where there are lots of betting parlors taking wagers at the games, and a few newer owners don’t hold the similar anti-gambling views in their predecessors.

Davis noted the Raiders played in Las Vegas in an exhibition in 1964, the one game by future NFL teams within the city. The Raiders beat Houston before an overflow crowd on the city’s baseball field. “With your help it won’t be another 50 years before the Raiders play another game in Las Vegas,” Davis said.

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