Odds Favor Raiders Lasting in Vegas

• The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas at some point in the next few years. 
• With no lease agreement on the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, it could be as soon as next year.
• A 30-year stadium lease and booming sports market should keep the oft-moved team in Vegas for the foreseeable future. 

The question of where the Oakland Raiders will play their home games continues to loom large as the NFL season reaches the midway point. With no lease agreement in place that would enable the team to return to Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, and the threat of lawsuit by the City of Oakland hanging over the team, it remains to be seen where the Raiders will call home for the 2019 campaign.

Oakland? Santa Clara? Parts Unknown?!? #Raiders https://t.co/2fu3nC6fhk

— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 24, 2018

But one thing is certain: the team will be in Vegas for 2020 at the latest, a move that is expected to give the nomadic team a stable, long-term home. The oddsmakers are capitalizing on the public interest with a very longterm prop bet on how long the Raider franchise will reside in Sin City.

How Many Seasons Will the Raiders Play in Las Vegas?

The likelihood that Vegas winds up being a permanent home for the Raiders is reflected in the short -500 odds that the team stays there for over 10 seasons.

Nomadic Raiders’ History of Relocation

It won’t be the first time the Raiders have been on the move when they finally bid farewell to the Bay Area sometime over the next 18 months. The team played in three different stadiums over the first six seasons of their existence before moving into their present home at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, and also called the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home for 13 seasons, starting back in 1982.

The Raiders called the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home for 13 seasons, starting back in 1982

The team’s nomadic past has some observers wondering if there is any value in the +300 odds offered of the Raiders lasting fewer than 10 seasons in Las Vegas. The short answer is probably not.

State-of-the-Art Stadium, 30-Year Lease Point to Lengthy Stay in Vegas

Construction is well underway on the state-of-the art domed stadium just off the Strip that the Raiders will call home starting in 2020. Ground was broken on the $1.8 billion facility late last year, shortly after a lease agreement was reached between the team and the Clark County Stadium Authority that will make the Raiders the stadium’s primary tenant for at least 30 years.

NHL, UFC Building on Vegas’ Established Sports Tradition

Concerns about the viability of an NFL franchise in Las Vegas have also been allayed by the surprising success of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, who packed T-Mobile Arena with capacity crowds for all 41 regular-season games during their inaugural campaign, and captured the imagination of the sports world while making an unprecedented march to the Stanley Cup Final.

Vegas Golden Knights push their remarkable expansion season into the Stanley Cup Final, beating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference final. https://t.co/7xlQzHbnLv

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 20, 2018

Las Vegas also enjoys a lengthy sports tradition that goes beyond the sportsbooks on the Strip. The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels home games were a magnet for celebrities during their days as one of the nation’s elite college basketball teams in the 1980s and early 1990s, and thousands of fans regularly make the pilgrimage to T-Mobile Arena, paying top dollar to attend UFC events.

Play on the Field Likely to Determine Raiders’ Long-Term Success

The greatest obstacle to the Raiders’ success in Vegas will likely be their performance on the field. Currently saddled with a dismal 1-5 record, the Raiders are pegged as distant +15000 longshots to claim their first Super Bowl title in 35 years.

Indeed, the team looks destined to finish the season outside the playoff picture for the 15th time in 16 years, a streak that must end if the Raiders hope to fully capitalize on the great potential of their new home.