Las Vegas mayor: Stadium, not gambling, biggest issue for potential NFL relocation

The NFL has thus far stayed away from moving a franchise to Las Vegas due to its inescapable connections to gambling.

However, with the Oakland Raiders looking at Sin City as a potential relocation site, team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell have softened their stance against gambling considerably.

Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman said during an appearance on ESPN Radio on Tuesday that she doesn't anticipate gambling being the determining factor in whether her city will get a franchise, rather it'll be the ability to build an NFL-standard stadium.

"We've had years and years of experience in how to set regulations and enforce them. But I really don't believe it's going to be an issue for us at all," she said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "At this point, the first step is to work through those numbers to make sure we can get a stadium built, do it high quality and most importantly in the right location."

Goodman revealed that the topic of whether gambling regulations would impact the Raiders' - or possibly another franchise's - potential relocation has yet to come up in her fight to acquire an NFL team.

She also pointed to the fact that in England - one of the league's next target's for expansion - gambling is legal.

The process of getting a stadium approved is in motion, with Raiders owner Mark Davis pledging $500 million towards the project. But another $750 million from Nevada taxpayers will need to be signed off for it to become a reality.