Getty Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
There might not be in owner in the NFL with more power that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Before the start of last season, Forbes named his team as the most valuable in the NFL and it’s not even all that close. Despite not making a Super Bowl since 1995, Jones has figured out how to keep his team very popular and valuable.
Usually, what Jones wants, Jones gets and he now has a new desire. According to Sports Illustrated, the Cowboys owner wants his team to be the first to play in the Los Angeles Rams’ new SoFi Stadium and the Las Vegas Raiders‘ Allegiant Stadium.
“If possible,” Jones said, “I’d like to be their first game, both teams, first game.”
Both stadiums are architectural marvels, so it makes sense that Jones would like to play in them before others get the chance.
“I’m very excited,” Jones said. “I was excited to play that first preseason game against the Rams there in the Coliseum. If possible, I’d like to be their first game, both teams, first game. Which is not impossible, I guess.”
How This Idea Could Work
In the Raiders’ case, they don’t play the Cowboys in 2020 during the regular season. However, that doesn’t sound like it’s what Jerry Jones wants. If he wants to play the game that opens the stadium, he’ll have to meet them in the preseason. Preseason schedules have yet to be released just yet, so it remains to be seen if it will actually happen.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal exactly which team gets to be the first to play in a new stadium. If Jones feels passionate about it, then he’ll probably get his way.
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Jones Helped Mark Davis Get the Raiders to Las Vegas
When it came to the Raiders trying to move to Los Angeles, Jones didn’t do them any favors. However, he was instrumental in getting the team to Las Vegas. In a 2017 piece by Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN, they revealed that Jones “played six different roles” in helping the Raiders move to Las Vegas.
“I promised your dad, who was a mentor of mine, that I’d take care of you,” Jones told Raiders owner Mark Daivs, per ESPN.
If it weren’t for Jones, the Raiders may have not made the move as Wickersham and Van Natta pointed out:
Both the league and the Raiders appreciated Jones throwing his weight behind the project, adding legitimacy to it, convincing skeptical owners that the city and team would be a perfect marketing and branding match in a beautiful new stadium that could host the combine and even a Super Bowl.
While there was a lot of skepticism of a team moving to Las Vegas at first, it appears like it’s ready to be a hit. Allegiant Stadium is a very exciting structure and the draft could potentially be held there in 2022.
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