A .9 billion proposal to build a stadium to bring the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas has taken a giant step forward.
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, the group charged with analyzing the project on behalf of Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Legislature, has voted to recommend it in precisely the form favored by its leading backer, Las Vegas Sands—with the public picking up nearly 40 percent of the cost.
The committee was slated last week to send its recommendation to Governor Brian Sandoval, who called a special session of the legislature to sign off on the public’s portion of the bill, which would be funded by an increase in the Clark County hotel room tax of 0.88 percent in the main gaming corridor and 0.5 percent elsewhere.
“This is an exciting and momentous day,” said Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government relations and community development for Las Vegas Sands. “(We) look forward to having similar discussions with the 63 members of the Legislature.”
The plan calls for LVS and partner Majestic Realty to pick up $650 million of the cost of the 65,000-seat domed stadium, which Sands says could also host collegiate bowl games and other major sporting events and large touring concerts. The Raiders would foot the remaining $500 million.
The facility will be publicly owned, but with all profits going to the developers, which doesn’t sit well with many in the local community.
“I support the stadium but not the public financing,” said County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani. “No publicly financed stadium in the United States has benefited the public. I still don’t understand what the rush is.”
Projections by the tourism committee show the stadium generating $35 million in state and local taxes and $620 million in total economic output a year. This includes spending at the stadium, materials purchased for stadium operations and the increased spending by people employed at the stadium, based on the presumption that events hosted at the facility will increase visitation to the city by 450,000.
Critics contend those estimates are overblown and that the spending won’t be incremental so much as it will be spending merely shifted from other areas. Public financing of stadiums has fallen into disrepute nationwide in recent years on the basis of several studies challenging the purported economic benefits.
But the bigger hurdle may lie in getting the NFL to sign off on the Raiders’ move out of Oakland. Three-quarters of the owners—24 of the 32—need to approve any team relocation, and “There is still a lot of work to be done” on that front, said Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“You never want to see a community lose their franchise once, much less twice,” Goodell said. “That’s why we work so hard with our communities to say, ‘This is what you have to try to get to, because you need to try to make sure this franchise continues to be successful.’”
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said her administration is committed to just that.
“It’s my job to remain fully focused on what I can do to responsibly keep the team where they belong, here in Oakland,” she said in a statement. “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 in Oakland.”
