One Final Season in Oakland (Again) for Raiders in 2019 Before NFL Team Moves to Vegas for 2020; And Other Sports Business News

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

It turned out the Raiders’ goodbye to the Coliseum in 2018 was a false alarm.

 

With a lease deal imminent for the Raiders to play at their Oakland-Alameda County football stadium in 2019, it looks like the Raiders will say goodbye to the Coliseum again this year. And this time the Raiders will really mean goodbye this time around.

 

The Raiders’ move to Las Vegas in 2020 to play in a publicly-subsidized domed stadium has been anything but smooth.

 

In Las Vegas, billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson paid lobbyists to convince Nevada legislators in 2016 to approve a stadium funding bill for the Southern Nevada to give $750 million to the Raiders for the stadium. And Adelson said he would contribute $650 million — but then the billionaire casino tycoon bailed on his $650 million and the Raiders borrowed the money from Bank of America to make up for Adelson’s departure from the stadium financing plan. I can’t think of another publicly-subsidized NFL stadium where the man responsible for the public subsidy then dropped out of the stadium plan.

 

And then two years later back in Oakland in late 2018, the city of Oakland sued the Raiders over their move to Las Vegas, alleging the move was illegal and arguing the NFL team owed the city damages. Yet less than three months later after the lawsuit, it appears the Raiders and the Coliseum stadium authority is on the verge of  patching things up enough to come to a lease agreement for the 2019 NFL season with an option to play at the Coliseum in 2020 in the event the Raiders stadium in Las Vegas is not ready to open.

 

 

In other Raiders business news, the team and Cox Communications have set a Thursday time to make a technology announcement at the Raiders stadium in Las Vegas that opens in summer 2020. My guess is that Cox Communications will be a technology sponsor/partner at the Raiders stadium.

 

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The number 61 jersey for new Vegas Golden Knights player Mark Stone was front and center at the VGK team store at the team’s training center in Summerlin even before the media met General Manager George McPhee to discuss the blockbuster trade that comes amid a Golden Knights slump.

 

How did the Golden Knights put the jersey on display so quickly at the team store? Golden Knights Chief Marketing Officer Brian Killingsworth has the answer.

 

“We wanted to make sure Golden Knights fans could have access to custom Mark Stone #61 jerseys as soon as the trade was confirmed. We connected with him and quickly found out that he wanted to wear #61, as he did in Ottawa and we decorated them at the Armory at T-Mobile Arena and the Arsenal at City National Arena. We were on sale with Stone jerseys immediately and had fans waiting in line waiting to buy them upon hearing the news of our new addition to the team.”

 

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The Las Vegas Aviators have announced ticket prices for their new $150 million Triple A baseball park in Downtown Summerlin. The first home is scheduled for April 9. The ballpark is next door to the Golden Knights training center and headquarters.

 

Tickets will only be available to purchase through Ticketmaster (1-800-745-3000) at www.ticketmaster.com.  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADA accessible seats will also be available to purchase through ticketmaster.com. The Aviators also be offering a military and first responders discount through the team’s partnership with Govx. The discount (TBD) will be available at the Las Vegas Ballpark box office, once the ballpark construction is completed. The individual game tickets for the 70-game home season are subject to dynamic pricing. The pricing classifications are subject to change:

Home Plate Box ($35-$45)

Dugout Prime ($29-$39)

Dugout Box ($22-$32)

Outfield Prime ($18-$28)

Outfield Box ($15-$25)

4 Topps Corners ($50-$60)

Home Run Porch ($50-$60)

Social/Berm ($12-$22)

 

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In press release news, Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings cut a deal for DraftKings to promote Caesars as its official “casino resort partner.”  Caesars will offer DraftKings market access for its online gaming products, subject to passage of applicable laws and the parties securing applicable gaming licenses. DraftKings’ market access is exclusive to Caesars across certain states in which Caesars operates casino properties. You can read the entire press release here.  Caesars has also cut a deal with the Raiders at their new stadium in Las Vegas.

 

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