Mark Davis says of Vegas NFL draft: ‘Right now, it’s going forward’

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis says the fate of the NFL draft event scheduled for next month in Las Vegas will be determined by a consortium of leaders — beginning with the league itself.

“We haven’t gotten to the point where the league is telling us anything, or giving us any insight into exactly what’s going to happen, but I will say this: The civic leaders here in Las Vegas and Nevada, the NFL headquarters, as well as the NFLPA (the league’s players’ union) are working on it, talking about it, and using a very measured approach,” Davis said Monday afternoon during an interview for next Monday’s PodKats! episode. “Right now, it’s going forward. But health and safety will be at the top of the list, and if there is any type of problem we’ll make adjustments to whatever schedule we have.”

Davis reiterated on Tuesday afternoon there was “no update” on plans for the NFL draft, set for April 23-25 on multiple Las Vegas stages. Events are to be centered on the new Caesars Forum convention center, with a red carpet walk set for Fountains at Bellagio.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have been meeting with NFL officials about scheduling and logistics for the widespread event.

Davis said event officials are certainly reviewing how the NBA and NHL are responding to the rapidly advancing crisis, and also noted the cancellation of the PNB Paribas Open tennis tournament in Palm Desert, Calif.

“That’s happening, right now, so looking forward a month or two, we don’t know where it’s going to be,” Davis said. “But I guarantee that the league and the leaders here will come up with the right plan. There is a dialogue between everybody in the public sphere. You have to have that.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram