UPDATE: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis owner was in town Friday, exploring a possible $1 Billion stadium that could be the future home of the Raiders despite rumors that they're also interested in heading to LA along with The Chargers and The Rams.
It would be a dream come true for Las Vegas native Mike Pritchard. He's played for 3 NFL teams and now co-hosts "Mitch and Pritch", a popular radio show on ESPN Las Vegas.
"Our phone lines were busy all day with people that were voicing their opinion," he told Action News.
Pritch says many of his listeners believe it'll never happen, referencing every other time a pro-team talked about coming to Las Vegas and never came.
"When you have an NFL owner actually coming into town and having a conversation within an investor,” said Pritchard. That's different.”
In the past, NFL officials have been against moving a team to Las Vegas in fear of the legalities that surround sports-gambling.
ORIGINAL STORY:
There is some major news that is rocking the sports world, and Las Vegas.
On Thursday, it was reported that the NFL's Oakland Raiders may possibly relocate to Las Vegas.
According to Ron Reese, Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Corporate Affairs with the Sands Corporation, the company is in talks to bring the team to Las Vegas.
The team would possibly play in a brand new stadium, with the support of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Sands Corporation.
Reese tells Action News that Mark Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders; is meeting Friday with executives from Las Vegas Sands.
When Action News asked about a possible deal to get the team here, he said he wasn't sure what they'd be talking about, but said Mark Davis probably wasn't coming here to go "house-hunting."
Reese tells us that the Las Vegas Sands supports a state-of-the-art stadium in Las Vegas, that could attract major sporting and entertainment events.
Reese also said it could be a new home for UNLV football. This would bring the team to campus. They currently play miles away at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The new stadium would cost $1 Billion to construct, and could possibly seat at least 60,000 fans.
As for the location of the stadium, the Sands Corporation is looking at a 42-acre section of land located on a reserved UNLV site just off Tropicana Avenue. The land is east of MGM Grand, between the MGM Grand and Paradise Road.
UNLV President Len Jessup released the following statement to Action News:
"As previously stated in public meetings, the 42-acre site has tremendous value given UNLV is a land-locked campus and a stadium is but one of the many potential uses identified. Other options include mixed-use retail or a variety of academic, research, and student facilities or some sort of combination. No decision has been made on how the property will be used and the evaluation is ongoing.
If a public-private partnership can be formed that includes the development of a new special events stadium with little or no cost to UNLV and we have access to use the facility, then it would be of great value to us."
