Las Vegas Raiders

Whilst London was a slim possibility, the Raiders have applied for relocation to Las Vegas in 2020.

The Raiders plan to move from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to a proposed 65,000-seater stadium which is expected to cost $1.9bn (£1.54bn).

Relocation to Nevada must be approved by three-quarters of NFL team owners (24 of 32), with the vote likely to take place in March.

Fixing one of the oldest and most decrepit stadiums in the league was not seen as viable and local government officials have said they do not have the money to pay for a large chunk of a new sports facility, which was something the Raiders had demanded.

Not a done deal by any means and the City Council voted last month to give Fortress, an investment group, 60 days to persuade the Raiders to consider a plan to build a new stadium in Oakland. Other than this not much else is on the table and if Raider owner Mark Davis has inherited one tenth of the stubborness of his father, then the Raiders will indeed be playing out of Vegas.

Only just noticed the significance of the date as it is the 15th anniversary of the infamous " Tuck Rule " game against New England. Certainly does not seem that long and have to say, still mildly annoyed all this time later.

The above mentioned Owners vote has taken place and by a whopping margin of 31-1, they have approved the relocation of the Raiders franchise to Las Vegas. The team will likely stay in Oakland for the next couple of seasons as they hold a pair of one year options at the Coliseum, but with the new stadium likely to be completed for 2020, they will have to find somewhere to play for the 2019 season.

The story was first up on Sky Sports News at 9pm. Very rare that an NFL story gets such billing

I am pretty sure that they will remains the Raiders as it is an iconic brand and is one that is known all around the world. They will also remain in the AFC West division. From the fans perspective, it is a blow, but of course thay have actually gone through this before. Back in 1982, the late, great Al Davis ( current owner Mark's father ) moved the team to Los Angeles and stayed there for 13 years.

With regards to the current situation, the stadium is a complete toilet, they share it with the Oakland A's baseball team ( a dirt infield on a football field not ideal ) and they have one of the lowest income streams in the NFL. This and ( until last year ) several years of failure. meant attracting free agents was tough and matching the bigger teams was difficult.

A brand new stadium now beckons, the team is one on the up and the future looks bright. On the negative side, I now have another reason to visit " Sin City "