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Raiders Heading To Las Vegas By 2020 Season
NFL team owners voted 31-1 (with Miami the lone dissenter) to approve the Raiders' proposal to relocate to Las Vegas during the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix on Monday. The Raiders won't immediately move to Las Vegas since construction of their planned $1.7 billion domed stadium isn't expected to be completed until 2020.

They will play this season at the Oakland Coliseum and have a contract option to play there again in 2018. After that, they likely will have to find a temporary venue to play in until their new stadium just off the Las Vegas strip is built.

Owner Mark Davis expressed the hope they could remain in Oakland for the 2019 season.

Meanwhile, Davis said he’d be willing to offer refunds to angry Oakland fans who had already put down deposits for season tickets.

“Not happy, but we will do that,” he said.

Davis added his father Al Davis “would be proud,” that he had taken the team to “the entertainment capital of the world.”

But as Profootballtalk.com pointed out, for at least the next two seasons, and perhaps three, he’s going to ask his old fans in Oakland to support him. And that could make for some interesting campaigns.

The Raiders will be the third NFL team relocation in less than 14 months. The Rams moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles last year and the Chargers announced their decision to move from San Diego to L.A. in January.

As NFL.com reminded readers, after no viable stadium solutions could be negotiated in Oakland, Las Vegas emerged as the Raiders' strongest potential destination after Nevada lawmakers approved $750 million in public funding for a new stadium. The Raiders and the NFL will provide $500 million toward stadium construction and Bank of America will contribute additional funding.

The Raiders' efforts to find a new stadium began in earnest in February 2015 when they announced a joint project with the Chargers to construct a stadium in the L.A. suburb of Carson. NFL owners, however, voted in favor of the Rams' Inglewood stadium project in January 2016 and gave the Raiders the potential option of relocating to L.A. if the Chargers decided not to move north.

Two weeks later, Davis met with Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson to discuss the potential of the Raiders playing in a proposed Las Vegas stadium. By April 2016, Davis publicly stated his desire to move to the city if it was serious about helping fund a stadium for the Raiders.

In October, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval finalized public funding for the stadium and the Raiders managed to get Bank of America to help finance the project after Adelson and Goldman Sachs pulled out as investors in January.

The Raiders are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2002 after posting a 12-4 record en route to finishing second in the AFC West. The franchise has won three Super Bowl titles and a AFL title during its 57-year history.