Raiders participate in charity cup at Sand Hollow, plan to pursue philanthropic events in Utah

File photo of Raiders player Randy Moss | Photo courtesy of Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Alumni players and executives from the Raiders participated in the annual Leavitt Charity Cup at the Sand Hollow Resort last week, the first of many charitable events the team hopes to participate in in Southern Utah. 

The Ryder Cup-style tournament includes four teams playing against each other, with all of the money going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. All of the proceeds from this will be going to JDRF, that does type 1 diabetes research, Mark Leavitt of the Leavitt Group said in a July press conference.

“This is a significant charity for us, and we have direct family members that suffer from type one diabetes, and we are anxious and grateful for the work that JDRF has done,” Leavitt said. 

Among those who participated included four teams consisting of alumni players and executives from the Raiders, Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake and more. The Charity Cup raised $100,000 for JDRF, which will help fund diabetes research across the country.

Because of the Raiders’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas, they have identified Utah as part of their market. The Raiders footprint, and what the NFL defines as their market, is both Nevada and Utah.

Marketing Director Brandon Clark said that when the Raiders first won relocation, they were too focused on southern Nevada.

“As the Raiders started to look at the broader footprint, per NFL rules, Utah falls within the Raiders footprint, and it’s their market,” Clark said.

Because of the relationship between Southern Utah and Nevada, the Raiders have decided to pursue philanthropic endeavors in Utah and have been actively seeking partnerships and other endeavors in the area. 

Eric and Mark Leavitt of the Leavitt Group and Mike Sommers after the Sand Hollow Golf Week, date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of the Sand Hollow Resort, St. George News

“The Charity Cup was an interesting one in which it clearly, from a geographical perspective, fits the footprint ideally as it’s less than two hours from Las Vegas, St. George, Washington county, and so forth.”

Some of the causes the Raiders have been involved in in the Bay Area, and now in southern Nevada, have been with the military, youth sports, the Clark County School District, Boys and Girls Clubs and Habitat for Humanity. Clark said the Raiders have a history of philanthropic efforts in the Bay Area are beginning the process in Utah and southern Nevada.

Progress on the new Raiders stadium in Las Vegas has been rapid, and the stadium is expected to be finished by July 31, 2020.

“It’s out of the ground, obviously, and it’s at its full scale. Now it’s a matter of filling in everything,” Clark said.

The Raiders consider the timeline for stadium completion to be really ambitious. The completion date is currently set for July 31, 2020.

“So not a whole lot of wiggle room between when it’s going to be needed and when it’s scheduled to be complete, but everything is going well.”

More information about the Leavitt Charity Cup can be found here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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