Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson has also pledged $650 million towards the construction of the stadium, while the Raiders would kick in an additional $500 million.
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The Raiders have a one-year stadium lease in Oakland, plus team options through 2018.
Much maneuvering still remains as Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) must decide whether to call a special session of the state legislature to consider the financing plan, while any proposed move by the Raiders out of Oakland would have to be ratified by at least 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners.
The Raiders have “promised” (and when have the Raiders ever been accused of not keeping a promise?) to kick in $500 million, which will have to go to the relocation fee the National Football League charges.
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee voted unanimously in favor of the public funding for the project, which would raise hotel tax throughout Las Vegas and help pay for a 65,000-seat domed stadium that has a proposed overall price tag of $1.9 billion.
Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, the most vocal member of the SNTIC throughout the process, was ecstatic about the unanimous vote for the stadium plan. And I think I’ve made it clear I’m pretty skeptical of a plan bringing the Oakland/Los Angeles/Irwindale/Inglewood/Carson/San Antonio Raiders to Las Vegas based on their track record of dealing with all those other cities in the past.
The developers have narrowed the locations to two sites – acreage immediately west of Interstate 15 and north of Russell Road, and land now occupied by the Bali Hai golf course. “We’ve learned from the mistakes of the past and we won’t repeat them”.
The retractable dome stadium is expected to be built on a 42-acre tract of land bordering McCarran Airport, just minutes from downtown Las Vegas.
There could be a couple of glitches that could derail the entire Las Vegas relocation.
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Proponents still need to win over the governor, the Legislature and three-quarters of National Football League owners to make the project a reality, but it’s a big step from months of discussions between developers and a committee charged with vetting tourism-related projects. The Raiders are likely to be the targeted team.
