Las Vegas, Nevada a city built in the middle of nowhere. Located in a desert, with unbelievably scorching summers. Hardly the place to expect any type of success or growth in any pursuit. Yet over the decades, hotels, casinos and legendary performers have graced this city and made it an irresistible location for bachelor parties, spring vacations, high profile conventions, gamblers, stunning niteclub experiences and world class restaurants.
The one thing lacking in this town has been a major league sports team. Sure, the University of Nevada Las Vegas has provided over the years, reasonable interest to local college football loving fans, but in recent times, the way to enjoy football in Vegas is to attend the huge sportsbook rooms and sports bars with wall to wall screens of football games.
Then after months of intensive negotiations and marketing, in 2016 the National Hockey League stepped up and announced the first Vegas based major league sports franchise in the Vegas Golden Knights. They are due to play their inaugural season in 2017-2018.
That had been the biggest sports story of the town in years. Yet on March 27 at the National Football League’s annual league meeting in Phoenix Arizona, that was blown out of the water when it was announced that the Oakland Raiders would be leaving their traditional home and relocating to Las Vegas.
Raiders owner Mark Davis had sought negotiations with the State of Nevada and has secured some $750 million dollars of public monies going towards the construction of a billion dollar state of the art stadium in Las Vegas. A final site has not yet been finalized.
The fascinating aspect of this story is that with the move of recent clubs such as the Los Angeles Rams (formerly St Louis) and the Los Angeles Chargers (formerly San Diego) they are all looking to build modern stadiums that will deliver a unique experience to the American pro-sports fan. The days of expecting folks to sit on simple plastic seats or concrete bleachers are over. That bar of expectation was set with the “House that Jerry Jones Built” being the Dallas Cowboy’s incredible football stadium in Arlington Texas, with it’s massive screens and unique fan zones. The Vegas Raiders experience with it’s new stadium due to be completed in 2020, I am absolutley certain the Las Vegas Raiders will become THE road game ticket and if they start winning it will be one of the the hottest football tickets in the country.
There has been a large degree of skepticism and negatively from outsider sporting pundits who see Vegas as merely a gambling town with “Bachelor Party” type potential troubles. Yet the one thing I’ve noticed over the past 18 months is that Las Vegas is going through a renaissance. It has regained it’s excitement and wow factor via it’s compelling nite-life, its outstanding nite-clubs such as the Omnia at Caesars Palace or Hakkasan at MGM Grand where you can dance to the world’s leading Electronic Dance Music DJ’s in amazing spaces. Yoga, spa, massage and other well-being packages are also being taken up by visitors to Vegas who seek more than the allure of slots, all you can eat buffets and poker chips.
The most important factor despite all of the talk stadiums and ticket deposits and disenfranchised fans, is the playing personal. Timing is everything in any endeavor worth pursuing and the Raiders experienced the worst possible luck at the end of last season. In form QB Derek Carr and his broken leg injury derailed the team’s post-game season.
Former Fresno State QB and now the “franchise” player of the Las Vegas Raiders Derek Carr is the key to early success for the new Vegas football venture. Photo: Jodie Newell © 2012
Their replacement quarterbacks were like deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck and their offense collapsed under the rigorous scrutiny of post-season football. Led by head coach Jack Del Rio, Derek Carr will return fitter, but other players such as wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree will still provide solid offense, Offensive lineman and pro-bowler Donald Penn has added much needed strength at the line of scrimmage and it isn’t an unrealistic call to say the Raiders will be a winning team come their debut in Las Vegas in 2020.
And don’t kid yourself for a minute that this new version of the Raiders football team wont be embraced. I’ve walked around this town the past couple of weeks and the excitement is palpable. Fans can clearly be seen proudly displaying their Raiders gear and this is months after the final snap from any football game.
And finally how insane will it be when a Superbowl is inevitably awarded to the city of Las Vegas? Exciting times indeed for the “Entertainment Capital of the World”
NB: We wish to sincerely and deeply thank Las Vegas Review Journal sports journalist in Ben Gotz who kindly gave his time for an interview on very short notice. His insights into the Raiders move to Vegas were brilliant. Good on you Ben and we wish you all the best in your journalism career.
