At least one prominent NFL owner is behind the idea of the Oakland Raiders potentially relocating to Las Vegas.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told USA Today on Friday he would support Raiders owner Mark Davis' desire to relocate the team to Las Vegas if he can't get a new stadium deal in Oakland.
"I think it would be good for the NFL," Kraft said. "I know Mark Davis has tried so hard in Oakland. If they won't do it ... I want to support him."
As NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted last week, Davis has been very open about trying to stay in Oakland, but he isn't confident the team will work out a deal with the city.
Last month, Davis pledged to move his team to Las Vegas and contribute $500 million toward the construction of a proposed $1.4 billion stadium in the city. "We're not using Las Vegas as a bargaining chip," Davis told the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee on April 28. "This is real."
Kraft said the association between Las Vegas and gambling shouldn't be a factor in barring a team from potentially relocating there.
"I came into the league in '94," Kraft said. "Back then, any exploration of that market was dismissed out of hand. I'm looking where we are today and thinking of the last 10 to 15 years, and the emergence of new media, with Google and Facebook and the like. We're just living in a different world, technology wise. The risks in Vegas are no longer exclusive to Vegas."
Earlier this week, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Las Vegas' gambling reputation is dwarfed by other potential benefits.
"For me, I think that certainly the fact that Las Vegas has a gambling aspect to it is far overshadowed by the entertainment value, if you will, family appeal, that you have, the convention appeal," Jones said. "So it does not have disfavor with me, in my opinion, relative to being an NFL city."
