With the new Raiders stadium in Las Vegas scheduled to open in 2020 and with the team’s lease at its old stadium expiring after the 2018 season, an obvious question arises: Where will the Raiders play in 2019?
The easy option would be to stay put in Oakland for another year. With, however, the city considering legal action against the Raiders and the NFL, the Raiders may not want to stay -- and Oakland may not want them.
So what would the options be? Levi’s Stadium makes sense, but neither the 49ers nor the Raiders may be interested in sharing space. The Raiders could play at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas for a year. Although it’s far from ideal at a capacity of only 40,000, that’s 10,000 more than the venue where the Chargers will spend three total seasons.
Likewise, San Antonio or some other city could be interested in a one-year arrangement. Then there’s the possibility of the Raiders playing all of their games on the road.
Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask, appearing several months ago on the PFT PM podcast, explained that the late Al Davis had mentioned the possibility of 16 road games when considering relocation options in the past. The 16-road-game approach would be problematic, however; apart from the Raiders having zero road games, the eight teams that otherwise would be playing the Raiders on the road will have nine home games for the year, undermining the broader notion of competitive balance.
Whatever the outcome, the Raiders and the NFL need to be thinking about it -- and coming up with a solution.