The Oakland Raiders will soon be no more.On Monday, NFL owners approved the franchise's move to Las Vegas at the league's annual spring meeting by a vote of31-1, according to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the report, noting the Miami Dolphins were the lone "no" vote.Raiders owner Mark Davis needed 24 "yes" votes for the proposal to be ratified.Davis released a statement on the decision, per Will Brinson of CBS Sports:Raiders quarterback Derek Carr also shared a statement on Twitter:NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal tweeted how the timing of the Raiders' move couldn't be much worse for fans in Oakland:The team will remain in Oakland for two more years, though. Davis confirmed the Raiders will play in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for 2017 and 2018, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.Davis said any Raiders fans with season tickets in Oakland can have their money refunded if they so choose, per NFL.com's Marc Sessler.The NFL shared comments from Davis at Monday's press conference:NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said relocation provided the Raiders and the league with more long-term security."We never want to see a relocation of a franchise," Goodell said, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. "[But]we needed to provide certainty and stability for the Raiders.""We're particularly disappointed for the fans in Oakland," he said of the move, per NFL on ESPN. "We worked as hard as we could to try and find that solution."Questions cropped up regarding the viability of the Raiders' move to Sin City after casino mogul Sheldon Adelson backed out of the team's proposed $1.9 billion stadium deal, but relief came at the start of March when Bank of America informed the franchise it would contribute $650 million to help finance the stadium.Furthermore, theMercury News'Elliott Almond reported the state of Nevada will contribute $750 million toward the stadium, while the Raiders and NFL will pour $500 million into the project.Conversely, the Raiders could not work out a deal to build a new stadium in Oakland.According totheSan Francisco Chronicle'sVic Tafur, Oakland officials did not want to ask the public to finance the stadium.And while there was a last-ditch effort byFortress Investment Group to invest $600 million in a new stadium for the Raiders in Oakland, the plan was not considered a viable one.Citing a letter from Goodell to Oakland mayorLibby Schaaf, Tafurreported Goodell wrote that the proposal was not "clear and specific (or) actionable in a reasonable time frame."As a result, the Raiders will be on the move for the second time in franchise history after they previously bolted Oakland for Los Angeles in 1982.The move also marks the third that's been approved by the NFL's owners since the start of 2016 after the Rams and Chargers both left for Los Angeles.
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