The Oakland Raiders’ future shifted in a Las Vegas direction Thursday, as the committee overseeing a proposed new 65,000-seat stadium in that desert city voted to approve the deal, clearing one major hurdle as billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson attempts to achieve his dream of a NFL stadium for the city.
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee’s final vote sends to state leaders the $1.9 billion plan — which includes a $750 million public subsidy but hands all the stadium revenues to Adelson and his partner developers.
Both Las Vegas and Oakland have been working toward getting a stadium for the Raiders, but the Thursday vote places Las Vegas decidedly ahead in the race, since Oakland has yet to come up with a viable deal despite years of effort.
In a statement, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf struck a defiant tone, saying “Oakland is neither rolling over, nor giving up.”
“We recognize the power and the strength of the Raiders’ brand and understand their desire to explore all possible options for the team’s future,” Schaaf’s statement read. “While Nevada lawmakers consider making the largest public investment in a private stadium deal in history, I will continue to work with the NFL and the Raiders to iron out a deal that works for the team, the league, the fans and the taxpayers of Oakland.”
The statement went on to tout the city’s long connection to the Raiders and to the NFL and the Bay Area as one a “tremendous market for the league both in terms of sports and ancillary development,” saying the regional fan base “here is without comparison.”
In Nevada, the decision-making process heads north to the state capitol in Carson City and the desk of Gov. Brian Sandoval.
In a statement, the Governor said he would “begin my review of the committee’s recommendations and will also begin discussions with legislative leadership, local stakeholders and my cabinet to clarify any outstanding questions.”
It is up to Sandoval to decide whether to call a special session of the state legislature to ratify the deal. If that happens, the developers could go to the NFL to propose a Raiders move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Proponents of the plan want Sandoval to call the special session and have the state legislature approve the deal as quickly as possible before they pitch the plan to NFL team owners. The legislature also would have to sign off on a hotel tax increase to fund the public share of the cost.
It will take the approval of three-fourths of NFL owners to make the move; such a vote could take place in January when the owners meet.
If the Raiders either back out or can’t get the votes to move, a smaller stadium would be built for UNLV football.
According to KNTV’s Bryan Callahan and Nevada political analyst Jon Ralston, several other issues were resolved at the tourism committee meeting Thursday, including excluding the City of Las Vegas from having a seat on the stadium authority, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman being the only vote in favor.
After that, the committee voted unanimously to go ahead with its plan, rejecting a 39 percent cap on public contributions that some had sought to make sure the bill to the taxpayers will not increase beyond $750 million. The agreement is that The Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Adelson’s primary vehicle in this fight, will put up the first $100 million for the stadium project in addition to contributing $50 million in land.
The Raiders’ interest seems to be considerable. Team owner Mark Davis met for three hours last week with Adelson.
But some in the Bay Area said they won’t let the team go easily.
“We need to call Las Vegas’ bet and fight like crazy to keep the Raiders in Oakland,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, in a Thursday statement. “The Raiders deserve a modern stadium like many other professional teams here that have succeeded in building 21st century facilities. We watched the Raiders leave once and we shouldn’t let them go again without fighting our hardest to keep them.”
