LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Raiders owner Mark Davis said Las Vegas has emerged as one of the world’s premier sports destinations, pointing to the franchise’s relocation, the Golden Knights’ championship run, and new major-league ambitions that include a planned baseball stadium and continued talk of an NBA team.
Davis highlights the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas with a decades-long family connection to the city.
Davis said the “Las Vegas dream” began with his father, Al Davis, who brought the Raiders to Southern Nevada for an exhibition game at Cashman Field in 1964.
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Davis said Al Davis visited Las Vegas often and considered the city as a potential home for the team long before the NFL ultimately approved the Raiders’ relocation.
As the league’s stance on sports gambling softened, Davis said he was able to finalize a move that relied on what he described as a “public-private partnership.”
“For the Raiders to move here was not an easy task,” Davis said. “But it happened. And it happened because of some wonderful people.”
Davis dismissed concerns that the Las Vegas market is too small to support franchises across the four major U.S. professional sports leagues, saying the city’s international connections and tourism make it different from other markets.
Looking ahead to the future for the Las Vegas Raiders as the team gears up for the NFL season, Davis said he believes the organization is “pointing forward” and said the team’s first-round draft pick, Fernando Mendoza, has the qualities to help the franchise succeed.
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