The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's American Football Conference West division. Founded on January 30, 1960, they played their first regular season game on September 11, 1960, as a charter member of the American Football League which merged with the NFL in 1970. The Raiders will play their home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada in 2020. Originally based in Oakland, California, the team departed Oakland to play in Los Angeles from the 1982 season through the 1994 season before returning to Oakland at the start of the 1995 season. On March 27, 2017, NFL team owners voted nearly unanimously to approve the Raiders' application to relocate to Las Vegas. Nearly three years later, on January 22, 2020, the Raiders officially moved to Las Vegas. The Raiders' off-field fortunes have varied considerably over the years. The team's first three years of operation were marred by poor on-field performance, financial difficulties, and spotty attendance.