Las Vegas NHL franchise owner not happy Raiders moving to city

The impeding move of the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas is being met with some seriously salty attitude from the owner of the city’s new NHL franchise.

For the first 106 years that the city of Las Vegas, Nevada has been incorporated, the people there have had to watch other cities have professional sports franchises while they sit around and gamble on everyone else. Now, Sin City will not only have a NHL franchise but the NFL looks to be coming after the Oakland Raiders saw a future move approved by owners this week.

While you would think everyone would be head over heels about the city in the desert becoming an instant player in the pro sports world overnight, there is some love lost between the silver and black and the ownership of the Golden Knights, the future NHL franchise.

Bill Foley, the man in charge of the men on ice who will start play in their new arena starting next season, went on a local hockey show in Las Vegas and made it clear he isn’t a fan of almost a billion dollars being spent on the move to bring pro football to the city (h/t San Jose Mercury News):

"“I felt like there were a lot better ways to spend $750 million than bringing the Raiders to Las Vegas. We could spend it on police, firefighters and teachers and have them all be the best in the country. But I guess we’re going to spend it on the Raiders. . . . If I had complete control of the situation, I would not have opted to have the Raiders come here.”"

Well, that’s going to make things awkward when owner Mark Davis finally brings his traveling circus to the desert in either 2019 or 2020. Could it be that Foley is salty considering he built T-Mobile Arena with his own money while Davis and the franchise got just under 10 figures for their future stadium that is sure to pay for itself quickly between big events that will make their way to the city.

That same reason was why Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was the only person not to vote in favor of the relocation last week. In reality, giving nearly $950 million for a sports stadium would not pass well on a public ballot (ask residents in Miami who will be paying for the Marlins’ stadium for the next century) so it’s not surprising everything was done behind the scenes.

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Foley later added he didn’t have a say, so he welcomes the Raiders to town. With a frosty first statement about the subject, one has to wonder how it will be felt by the football franchise when they make their way to town.