Las Vegas Sands proposes $1B domed stadium; Adelson to meet with Raiders owner

[Azlen]

Most cities considered big cities have populations under 3 million. Philadelphia has 1.5 million people and have and support all 4 major sports plus MSL, the Arena Football League, indoor soccer when that was around, pro lacrosse, World Team Tennis, the AHL until a few years ago(the Phantoms now play in Lehigh Valley), several big named colleges, etc. Thing is, it's not just the city proper. Philly draws from South Jersey as well as Delaware. Hell, East Rutherford has like 10,000 people and has 2 NFL teams and until a couple of years ago had an NHL team(since moved to Newark) and an NBA team(since moved to Brooklyn).

It's better to look at the size of the MSA rather than the population of the city proper. From a ranking standpoint Vegas is the 29th largest with an estimated population of 2.1 million. That puts it ahead of Kansas City, Jacksonville, Cleveland, New Orleans, Milwaukee (still true even if you add the Green Bay MSA) and Indianapolis.
BTW Philadelphia has 6 million plus in their MSA while Phoenix has around 4.5 million.

 

[Russ Smith]

Plenty of people want a team. They just don't want the raiders.

They're actually a pretty good team Shane. Give them another good draft and they could be a really good team.

They have Mack on defense with some other nice pieces. Carr on offense, 2 good WR's, some talent. they look to me like a team that's a year away and they're 4-1 right now.

 

[JeffGollin]

It will be interesting having three teams in the Phoenix Vegas LA triangle.

If the move to Vegas were to actually happen, I'd expect a significant realignment of teams to encourage regional rivalries (& lower potential divisional transportation costs). For example, I could envision an AZ, LA, SD and LV southwest division together with a more northern one consisting of SF, Seattle, Denver & KC.

 

[TruColor]

If the move to Vegas were to actually happen, I'd expect a significant realignment of teams to encourage regional rivalries (& lower potential divisional transportation costs). For example, I could envision an AZ, LA, SD and LV southwest division together with a more northern one consisting of SF, Seattle, Denver & KC.

Why would they do that? They already have a fairly decent geographical mix - based on region, and divided up between conferences...national TV contracts dictate the separation between AFC and NFC.

 

[Shane]

They're actually a pretty good team Shane. Give them another good draft and they could be a really good team.

They have Mack on defense with some other nice pieces. Carr on offense, 2 good WR's, some talent. they look to me like a team that's a year away and they're 4-1 right now.

Has nothing to do with the talent on the team or how good they are Russ… People don't want the Raiders because of the clientele they're going to bring in and their fan base... completely justified in Latin I get the sense of apprehension..

 

[Russ Smith]

Has nothing to do with the talent on the team or how good they are Russ… People don't want the Raiders because of the clientele they're going to bring in and their fan base... completely justified in Latin I get the sense of apprehension..

Yeah I get that I guess I'm just saying it's at least a good team now a few years ago it was a terrible team with a bad fanbase.

 

[WisconsinCard]

How much is the relocation fee? NFL owners will be rewarded handsomely for a yes vote.

 

[NJCardFan]

Am I the only one thinking about the riot in Oakland if this does happen?


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[Son of RedRage]

I think some are underestimating the 2.1 million metro population of Las Vegas.

Cincinnati is just under 2.2 and it has an NFL team plus MLB.

Pittsburgh is 2.4 and has an NFL team, MLB, and an NHL team

And there are about 5 more multi-sport metro areas under 3 million.

How both the NFL and NHL would do in Las Vegas remains to be seen. But a domed stadium could host not only the NFL and UNLV, but conventions, boat shows, rodeos...a lot of things.

Hell, San Francisco is well short of a million.

 

[AZ Native]

If you are talking about the city of San francisco, yes it is about a million. But San Francisco is exactly 47.355 square miles in size,roughly 7 miles by 7 miles. The bay area (from which the sports teams draw from) population is over 7 million. That would be about the area size Phoenix from Mcdowell Road to Peoria Ave and 32nd St to 27th Ave.