Soon, you might be able to go gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada, and catch some live pigskin at the same time, if one National Football League team gets its way.
There has been discussion for the past several months about the California-based Oakland Raiders and their ownership’s desire to move the team to Sin City. That effort appears to have taken another step.
ESPN is reporting that the Raiders have filed for multiple trademarks for the name “Las Vegas Raiders” with the federal government agency that governs such things. While the TV network notes in its story that there was not a filing for a logo-based trademark and that it is expected the team will get its request approved, several other requests for trademark of this name have also been filed by other people, so the Raiders’ efforts to get the name trademarked themselves will be held up somewhat as a result.
The discussion about bringing the NFL to the country’s most well-known gambling destination is gaining steam because the Raiders play in arguably the worst stadium in the league; Oakland’s O.co Coliseum is nearly 50 years old, and as their fellow professional sports tenant, the Oakland Athletics, can attest, it’s become a bit of a health hazard, with several instances of sewage problems in the stadium in the past couple of years, the most recent of which, according to this Washington Post story, happened in May during a baseball game between the A’s and New York Yankees.
ESPN reports the Raiders currently have a one-year lease to play at the Coliseum, so time is of the essence if they want to get this move to Vegas made official.
Pro sports will be making its debut in Sin City next year, with the arrival of the National Hockey League to Las Vegas in the form of an expansion team that was awarded to the city earlier this summer.