The Raiders might get stuck playing a home game outside the Bay Area in 2016 after all, just not exactly where they expected. They are reportedly going to play the Houston Texans in Mexico City.
League sources told The Houston Chronicle that the Texans will finally get a chance to play in Mexico, where they have a growing fan base. Although owner Bob McNair and president Jamey Rootes have wanted to do this for a while, McNair has refused to give up a home game. Since the Raiders have yet to sign a new lease in Oakland, it seems like the perfect franchise to be forced to give up a home game.
Although the league hasn’t played a game in Mexico City since 2005, the game was a huge success, notes CBS News. The 49ers-Cardinals match-up drew 103,467 people, which was a record for NFL attendance. (The Cowboys broke the record in 2009 when a Giants-Cowboys game in Dallas drew 105,121.)
The game would be played at the Estadio Azteca, which was renovated in 2013.
The NFL already plays three regular season games in London. According to NFL.com, the league is also considering moving a regular season game to Germany by 2017.