Last week the NFL gave the Oakland Raiders the approval needed to move to Las Vegas.  

The owners voted 31-1 in favor of the act.  This follows suit with other leagues.  The most notable one would be the NHL, who created a team in Las Vegas called the Golden Knights, who will begin play sometime this year.  The Raiders are expected to finish their move to Las Vegas in 2020.

There are many worries about the move, namely that possible corruption could occur at Raiders home games or within the front office.  Las Vegas, famous for its gambling, is now seen as a new growing market for sports teams to return to.  Critics point out that referees or players could easily become caught up in the world of betting.  However, as gambling and attitudes towards it have changed, so too has the economy.  Las Vegas now relies less on just its casinos to maintain revenue and has expanded to more general entertainment.  The NFL seeks to capitalize on tourism and the action of football to draw attention not only from casual fans, but possibly expand their brand worldwide.  It also helped that Las Vegas agreed to build a nearly $2 billion stadium that was financed with loans along with $750 million in public support.

With the move, the Raiders will be the first team to leave their city, return, and then leave once more.  Most fans will be extremely disappointed that the Raiders have left once again.  However, the front office of the Raiders made it very clear that they sought to expand markets and Oakland was not the right home for them.  In the meantime, Oakland Raiders fans hold out hope.  The Raiders left once and then came back, it may happen again soon enough.

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