The Raiders returned to Oakland 13 seasons after migrating from Oakland to Los Angeles. The NFL was without a club in Los Angeles for 20 seasons when the Raiders returned to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. With the opening of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on March 2, 2014, it is possible that the Raiders will leave Oakland for the second time in three years.
When the Raiders left Oakland for Los Angeles in 1997, they agreed to return to Oakland if the city would build them a new stadium. When this proposal fell through, the Raiders announced in 2003 that they were moving to Las Vegas. After months of talk about possibly moving, the Raiders officially announced on April 17, 2014, that they were staying in Las Vegas.
So, no, the Raiders will not be moving back to Oakland. They are still planning to build their new stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders are the NFL's eighth club to relocate from one city to another during the Super Bowl era. The Raiders have relocated several times. Originally based in Oakland, the Raiders relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, then returning to Oakland in 1995, before finally settling in Las Vegas for the 2020 season.
In 1972, the Oakland Raiders joined the newly formed American Football League (AFL). The AFL was established by former NFL players who wanted to play professional football but not deal with the racial discrimination and inequality that they felt existed in the NFL at the time. The Raiders played their home games at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, a stadium that they also used as a concert venue and event center. The team went undefeated in their first season and won the AFL championship.
The Raiders had financial problems after their first season and were forced to move out of Oakland. They settled on the Los Angeles area because of the wealth of talent available in the NFL and the ability of owner Al Davis to get top dollar for his teams. The team chose to be named after the movie franchise rather than its actual location due to confusion with the San Francisco 49ers.
Los Angeles was originally not interested in having an NFL team, but when the Raiders came calling, no other team could match their offer. The league approved the move on February 7, 1980.
Relocate to Las Vegas. Despite being permitted to relocate to Las Vegas, the Raiders played the 2017-2018 and 2019 NFL seasons in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and were still known as the Oakland Raiders as long as they were based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Should they win the next two games against Kansas City and Chicago, they will advance to the NFC Championship game where they will meet the Atlanta Falcons.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said of playing in Nevada's capital city: "It would be amazing. I'm from Southern California so I've always wanted to play in Los Angeles. Now that we're going to be able to do that, it's pretty cool." The team's owner, Mark Davis, has stated that he wants to move the Raiders back to Los Angeles when their lease expires in 2020. However, there is no indication that the league intends to allow this to happen.
Carr also said that winning in Las Vegas would make his career even more special than already is: "It would mean a lot. It's such a competitive industry and to have your name attached to something like that would be incredible."
The Raiders currently hold five home games per year against rival San Diego Chargers. They will also face off against Seattle Seahawks twice, Denver Broncos once, and Dallas Cowboys once. In addition, they will travel to London for three regular season games against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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