Oakland Raiders relocation cost ranges between $325-375 million
By Carly Regehr
A pick up-and-move to Las Vegas will reportedly cost the Oakland Raiders nearly $400 million.
Some say money can’t buy happiness. Others keep a helpful idiom around that was coined by Ari Gold from Entourage: “those that aren’t happy, don’t [expletive] have it.” And there’s some wisdom to that, especially when you’re an eccentric billionaire like Mark Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders.
For the last few weeks, a swarm of rumors about the Raiders packing up and heading east has become deafening. For starters, Bank of America has agreed to finance a stadium in Vegas, if the Raiders execute their plan. Now, details concerning the cost are emerging outside of the blueprint. Albert Breer, the NFL connoisseur that he is, has crunched some numbers in terms of the bill which will be presented to the Raiders. That bill is worth some $350 million — give or take a few pennies.
Unlike the deal that sent the Chargers to Los Angeles, which rang up a check of $650 million, the Raiders have some netting. Bank of America has already donated $750 million to the state of Nevada, so their appetite for money is insatiable. But as The MMQB continued to point out, Oakland would be doing more harm than good to itself. Presently, Oakland is ranked fairly high in terms of market strength; whereas Vegas controls one of the lowest-rated markets in the country.
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Heading into the 2016 regular season, Forbes released a list of NFL teams and their values. The Oakland Raiders? They appeared at No. 20, one slot ahead of Los Angeles Chargers. Estimated at a value of $2.1 million, the Raiders still fared well in generated revenue ($301 million). At this rate, a Raiders relocation to Vegas seems to have more cons than pros. If all goes well, though, the deal could go down in the next week or so.