Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Raiders will arrive to Las Vegas sooner than planned with NFL policy change

Teams are now required to hold training camps at their home practice facilities

Raiders Way

Wade Vandervort

A newly installed Raiders Way street sign is posted in front of the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Tuesday, May 19, 2020.

Raiders Way

A newly installed Raiders Way street sign is posted in front of the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Launch slideshow »

A handful of Raiders got a tour of the team’s under-construction new Henderson headquarters, the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, in January and came away raving about it.

“It’s top notch,” tight end Darren Waller said. “There’s not going to be anything better in the league. It’s a blessing to have that, walk through and see the vision. It’s just an exciting time.”

Considering both Waller and quarterback Derek Carr said they couldn’t wait to move in, they received good news on Tuesday. The wait won’t be as long as expected after ESPN obtained a memo from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informing teams they will be required to hold this season’s training camps at their own practice facilities because of the coronavirus.

The Raiders had planned to continue holding training camp in Napa, Calif., but with a public NFL announcement imminent, they’ll now have no other choice but to hunker down locally. The 336,00 square-foot space is nearing completion and should be ready by late June, when teams would traditionally host a minicamp and rookie transition program.

It’s possible those events will be scrapped out of caution, but the NFL has shown every indication that it plans to start the season on time, which would mean a traditional training camp in late July.

The Raiders have held their training camp in Napa for the last 25 years and were poised to continue for at least one more year. They had also considered relocating training camp to Reno as part of their move to Nevada, according to team president Marc Badain, with Las Vegas out of the question because of the summer heat.

The Raiders may have to adjust to 100-plus degrees temperatures, but they’ll at least have some of the league’s finest amenities at their building off of St. Rose Parkway near M Resort — and importantly, enough space to practice indoors. The facility includes two indoor practice fields — one half-size and one full-size — along with three more outdoors.  

It also has a state-of-the-art weight room, locker room, rehabilitation center and office space.

Team officials had spoken enthusiastically about welcoming fans for an event or two shortly before the kickoff of the season, but that would now appear unlikely to happen with social-distancing protocols still in place. The requirement of teams sticking to their home base was made out of safety, after all.

Teams will also not be permitted to hold joint practices with other franchises, as the Raiders have commonly done, including last year with the Los Angeles Rams. The change in NFL policy might be a disappointment for some fan bases, but it shouldn’t be for locals who support the Raiders.

It’s ultimately going to bring the Raiders to Las Vegas sooner.    

“It’s unbelievable,” Carr said earlier this year. “Seeing the facility, you know everything our owner is trying to do is just to help us win and what that does for a team is real.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy