When Oakland Raiders’ owner Mark Davis trademarked the Las Vegas Raiders name, it became even more obvious how serious he is about moving the franchise to Sin City.
The move cleared a key hurdle in Las Vegas last week when a committee overseeing stadium construction approved $750 million in public financing—a little more than half of the estimated $1.4 billion cost of a new stadium.
The issue now heads to the state capitol in Carson City where it will be up to Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature to decide whether the project should move forward. Sandoval has been willing to open the state’s checkbook by providing incentives for companies such as Tesla to locate its battery manufacturing facility in the Reno area.
There’s plenty of private clout behind it, notably billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelman.
The key question, even if the state comes on board, will be whether two-thirds of the NFL owners will approve the move. Traditionally, the league has shied away from anything to do with legal gambling. That said, there’s been an explosion of online fantasy football such as Fan Duel and Draft Kings to say nothing of the non-money games offered by a variety of web sites.
Whether owners will stick to their time-honored view or grant Davis his request to move from Oakland for a second time is the open question.
It was ironic Sunday to watch the Raider-Atlanta game in the Coliseum and see “Mt. Davis,” the expansion of the eastside of the stadium to accommodate suites and more seating with the top deck covered in tarps.
And then hear the talking heads on CBS whine about the Raiders playing in a stadium with a baseball infield. Mt. Davis destroyed what was a fine baseball stadium and now is significantly under-utilized.
The reality that neither the A’s or the Raiders are happy speaks to the politicians in Oakland and the county and their inability to make a suitable deal with either one. That’s particularly true for the A’s who have been boxed out of the South Bay by the Giants’ territorial rights.
I am writing this while looking out on the early morning, mountain sunlight starts to play over the dry grasses bordering the Grizzly Ranch golf course. We played Monday in Truckee in temperatures that were in the low 80s, cooled by a vigorous breeze much of the afternoon.
I could not help reflecting that if we had scheduled this one week earlier, there was snow on the mountains the freezing rain below. One forecast I caught indicated that might happen again on Thursday—fortunately we will be back down the hill.



When Oakland Raiders’ owner Mark Davis trademarked the Las Vegas Raiders name, it became even more obvious how serious he is about moving the franchise to Sin City.
The move cleared a key hurdle in Las Vegas last week when a committee overseeing stadium construction approved $750 million in public financing—a little more than half of the estimated $1.4 billion cost of a new stadium.
The issue now heads to the state capitol in Carson City where it will be up to Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature to decide whether the project should move forward. Sandoval has been willing to open the state’s checkbook by providing incentives for companies such as Tesla to locate its battery manufacturing facility in the Reno area.
There’s plenty of private clout behind it, notably billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelman.
The key question, even if the state comes on board, will be whether two-thirds of the NFL owners will approve the move. Traditionally, the league has shied away from anything to do with legal gambling. That said, there’s been an explosion of online fantasy football such as Fan Duel and Draft Kings to say nothing of the non-money games offered by a variety of web sites.
Whether owners will stick to their time-honored view or grant Davis his request to move from Oakland for a second time is the open question.
Commissioner Roger Godell questioned whether the team had done enough to work things out in Oakland over the weekend.
It was ironic Sunday to watch the Raider-Atlanta game in the Coliseum and see “Mt. Davis,” the expansion of the eastside of the stadium to accommodate suites and more seating with the top deck covered in tarps.
And then hear the talking heads on CBS whine about the Raiders playing in a stadium with a baseball infield. Mt. Davis destroyed what was a fine baseball stadium and now is significantly under-utilized.
The reality that neither the A’s or the Raiders are happy speaks to the politicians in Oakland and the county and their inability to make a suitable deal with either one. That’s particularly true for the A’s who have been boxed out of the South Bay by the Giants’ territorial rights.

I am writing this while looking out on the early morning, mountain sunlight starts to play over the dry grasses bordering the Grizzly Ranch golf course. We played Monday in Truckee in temperatures that were in the low 80s, cooled by a vigorous breeze much of the afternoon.
I could not help reflecting that if we had scheduled this one week earlier, there was snow on the mountains the freezing rain below. One forecast I caught indicated that might happen again on Thursday—fortunately we will be back down the hill.