The NFL is all about money and the Oakland Raiders are making a financial decision by moving to Las Vegas. However, their decision could end up being a big mistake that may hurt the franchise forever.
After moving to Las Vegas, it will mark the second time that the Raiders have moved out of Oakland with the first being to Los Angeles. Of course, the Raiders later decided to move back to Oakland after their stint in Los Angeles. If the Raiders are smart, they will decide to follow suit after relocating to Las Vegas and get back to Oakland as soon as possible.
The biggest issue for the Raiders is they are leaving behind their most loyal fans. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum isn't a great NFL stadium, but that was part of the lure of the team. Going into the black hole was something no team wanted to do, and they had one of the best home-field advantages in all of football. Dieter Kurtenbach of The Mercury News put the issues with moving to Las Vegas best.
Raiders fans comprise the only fanbase in sports that can rightly call itself a “nation.” Such is their nomadic history, their decentralization, and devotion to the squad. Raiders fans will travel from the Bay, from Los Angeles (where there are still millions of fans), and everywhere else the first few years in the desert.
But I don’t think that will last long.
They’ll go. They’ll see it. And after that, they’ll stay home. Televisions are pretty great these days.
And why go back? There will be no tailgating scene in Las Vegas; they didn’t build enough parking lots. No Black Hole in the stadium, either; that might scare off tourists.
This new stadium couldn’t be a starker departure from the Coliseum. The Coliseum was a den of hedonism for the common man. It was featureless and amenity-free, a place you’d go only if you were so into football and drinking that you’d forget the home team played only one playoff game in the last 17 years.
Raiders fans supported their team no matter if the team had 12 wins or two wins. In Las Vegas, it's going to be hard to find that same type of loyalty and fans will quickly turn. It's worth noting, Las Vegas is also a great travel city so there will be plenty of fans from other cities flying in to see their favorite team.
After the first couple of seasons, don't be shocked if Raiders home games resemble how some of the Los Angeles Chargers' home games have appeared the last couple of seasons with many fans of the away team in attendance.
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