Raiders Begin Taking Deposits For Las Vegas Game Tickets
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Just 24 hours after the NFL approved the Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas, the team announced it would start taking $100 deposits for the rights to tickets in their yet to be built new stadium.
By a 31-1 vote the NFL owners gave Raiders owner Mark Davis the right to move the team, but the stadium in Las Vegas will not be ready until 2020.
So for at least the next two seasons, the club plans to still play in Oakland. It's a plan that has plenty of opposition from community leaders and jilted fans.
Michael Lambirt, a member of the team's celebrated 'Black Hole' cheering section, said he wasn't going to be attending any more games in Oakland.
"I'm done," said Lambirt, who was dressed in his 'Voodoo Man' regalia. "If you don't like it, don't go to any games."
Davis is hoping that is not the case. On Monday, the Raiders owner vowed to refund season-ticket holders money if they want it back.
"We plan to play at the Coliseum in 2017 and 2018, and hope to stay there as the Oakland Raiders until the new stadium opens," he said. "We would love nothing more than to bring a championship back to the Bay Area."
But with Tuesday's announcement, it appears the team wants to ride a surge of popularity in Las Vegas to fill its coffers. The club said the $100 deposit was refundable if the ticket holder has a change of heart before the move.
The Raiders aren't the only ones getting a jump on the Raiders surging popularity in Las Vegas.
Bunny Ranch brothel owner Dennis Hof said he planned to open a sports-themed bordello to coincide with the Raiders arrival in Las Vegas.
"The Raiders coming to Vegas will mean big business for me, so my next sex den will honor the 'Men in Black' and their 'Raiders Nation,'" Hof said in a press release.
