The Raiders just made another big move in their push to relocate to Las Vegas
The Oakland Raiders seem to be pushing forward in their quest to leave the Bay Area after they filed for three trademarks for the phrase "Las Vegas Raiders," according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.
The move for the trademarks is to allow the Raiders organization the exclusive right to use the phrase for sporting events, and advertise on everything from helmets to bikinis.
However, as Rovell points out, it could take some time:
"Six individuals have sought to trademark the phrase before the Raiders did and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviews filings in the order in which they received them. Those individuals — who all filed their trademarks on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 when owner Mark Davis began his flirtation with moving to the city — will likely then have to make the case that their filing is unrelated to the team."
The team has not sought to trademark a logo yet, but they are moving ahead with a plan for a new domed football stadium which could cost an estimated $2 billion. The project is supported by the Raiders organization, Las Vegas Sands and a realtor and has the backing of the state.
Still, as we've previously noted, stadium financing is only the first step in a long process to relocate a team.
If the financing for a new stadium in Las Vegas were to pass, 24 of 32 NFL owners would still need to approve of the relocation.
It remains unclear which way the ownership is leaning.
When Stan Kroenke moved the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, we learned that NFL ownership is staunchly divided between old-guard owners like the Mara and Rooney families, and the comparatively new-money owners like Jerry Jones and Kroenke. It's not inaccurate to think that these two factions of ownership will also butt heads on Las Vegas: John Mara has expressed trepidation about Las Vegas because of the casinos, whereas Jones and Kroenke arereportedly interested in the Las Vegas for the same reasons they were interested in Los Angeles: it is another big market for the league to tap into.
For now, we're still a long ways away from any potential vote. But the latest news of trademarks certainly means Mark Davis has every intention of making that vote take place sometime in the future.