Is a New Oakland NFL Team Joining the NFL?

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Serious discussions began in 2009 about renovating or replacing the ageing Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders lease expired on the stadium after the 2013 season as renovation plans kept on falling through. In 2014 San Antonio was also discussion as a relocation city for the Oakland Raiders.

Las Vegas as an NFL relocation city for the Oakland Raiders started gaining traction in 2015. In 2016 series discussions took place for the Oakland Raiders to exit the NFL. The Raiders attempted to relocate to Los Angeles but the NFL instead gave Oakland more time to address it’s stadium issues.

MLB team Oakland Athletic made plans to upgrade Oakland Coliseum into a baseball specific arena soon after and the Raiders couldn’t work out a deal for a new stadium. The city of Las Vegas were willing to contribute $750 million of public funding toward building a $2 billion stadium which we now know as Allegiant Stadium.

In March of 2017 the NFL approved the Raiders move from Oakland to Las Vegas with owners voting 31–1 in favour of the relocation. Only Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross voted against the move. The Raiders left Oakland following a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 15th, 2019.

Las Vegas Raiders played their first regular season game at Allegiant Stadium in Week 2 against the Saints during the 2020 NFL season.

Will the Raiders Ever Come Back to Oakland?

The Oakland Raiders were established in 1960 but would relocate to Los Angeles in 1981, before returning back to Oakland in 1995.

Since leaving for Las Vegas to begin the 2020 season, gone are the days of old-fashioned tailgating. Allegiant Stadium doesn’t have enough parking spaces to recreate it.

Sadly, the intimidatingly famed ‘Black Hole’ at Oakland Coliseum has been replaced by something along the lines of a dance club with club seating and an exclusive DJ..

The NFL has left Oakland and returned before. Here are three reasons why an Oakland NFL team can come rejoin the NFL:

Oakland NFL Team at Levi’s Stadium

The Oakland Raiders home stadium was the ageing Oakland Coliseum. It was the second smallest stadium in the NFL after Chicago’s Soldier Field with a capacity of just over 63,000.

Built in 1966, the Raiders shared Oakland Coliseum with MLB team Oakland Athletic but by 2009 alternate options were being explored as it was no longer up to an NFL standard.

An option for an Oakland NFL team is a stadium share with the 49ers, Levi’s Stadium is a 45-minute drive from Oakland Coliseum.

The Rams and Chargers already share SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium in New York.

Convincing the 49ers faithful and Oakland NFL fans to share a home ground with each other won’t be an easy task but it could serve as a short term option if the city is to develop a new stadium for an Oakland NFL team.

Relocating an NFL Team to Oakland
An Oakland NFL team is a good option for the league and relocation may be the best route. Here are four current NFL teams that are most likely to relocate:

  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Chicago Bears

The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans are teams that have been discussed about for NFL relocation in recent history.

Jacksonville rarely sells out home games and Tennessee ranks as one of the smallest markets in the NFL.

Over in Buffalo, Highmark Stadium is home to the Bills. Built in 1973, it is the third oldest NFL stadium in the league behind only Chicago and Kansas City.

The Bills are lagging behind in terms of stadium investment and a small market like Buffalo could struggle to justify paying huge renovation costs.
Soldier Field, built in 1924, is the oldest stadium in the league and part of the reason why Chicago Bears have been discussed as a relocation team.

The Bears are unlikely to relocate following renovations to Soldier Field which finished in 2003, totalling $632 million. Its a huge spend compared to the $130 million spent on Highmark in 2012.

Will Raiders Be Successful in Las Vegas?
The Raiders will be more successful in Las Vegas than it was in Oakland off the field. On the field it won’t be hard for Vegas to better their performances than when in Oakland.

The city of Las Vegas has greater international appeal than Oakland. Almost 43 million people visit Las Vegas every year, ranking it easily within the Top 10 most visited cities in America.

In 2019 nearly one in five visitors to Las Vegas were from Southern California as well as 15% of Raiders season ticket holders.

The secondary cost of Raiders tickets in Las Vegas was up 527% compared to the cost of tickets when the Raiders where based in Oakland, showing us just how hot the team is in Vegas.

The Raiders are trending to be extremely successful in Las Vegas but let’s not rule out an Oakland NFL team returning as an expansion team.
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