During the past few months, the Oakland Raiders have made a series of moves that make it appear that they are serious about a move to Las Vegas.
On Thursday, we learned that the group of investors interested in building a football stadium in Las Vegas is also serious about making its stadium plan work. The group told a committee Thursday that it is not negotiating with anyone and is willing to walk away if it doesn’t receive the $750 million in public funding the group is requesting.
The group of investors, led by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has narrowed down its list of possible stadium sites to two. The investors have also established that the proposed 65,000-seat domed stadium would cost about $1.9 billion, which means the public’s $750 million contribution would be about 39 percent of the total cost of the stadium. The group was adamant about the public paying the $750 million.
“Not to be difficult, but we’re not negotiable,” said Sands President Rob Goldstein, who spoke on behalf of billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his family. “If we can’t get 750, we respectfully thank you but we’re going to move on.”
As with just about any stadium negotiation, there is pushback from some of those in the Nevada state government.
“There’s been a lot of conversation on why are we giving money to billionaires,” said Steve Hill, chairman of the oversight committee and head of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “The public is not making a contribution to a privately owned stadium.”
The back-and-forth comes as the group tries to get the stadium funding secured in a September special session. If the public funding is agreed to, the group can then head to the NFL owners meeting in January with a chance to move the team to Las Vegas.
While the investors and Nevada are quarreling over the stadium, the Raiders have been preparing on their own for a possible move, whether it has been trademarking “Las Vegas Raiders” or sending out surveys to gauge fan interest.
We’ve seen investors and team owners threaten state governments before. That is nothing new. What is interesting is Nevada’s limited experience with these sort of negotiations. It will be interesting to see how much inexperience plays a role.
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