When former Nevada governor Steve Sisolak approved $750 million in state funding back in 2016 for the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium project, it represented the largest public sum ever put towards a stadium development in the U.S.
For the rest of his tenure, Sisolak then vehemently opposed any more public spending for such projects, saying repeatedly that the Raiders cashed in on a one-time deal.
However, ever since current Governor Joe Lombardo took office in January, it’s been hard to tell whether or not he will stand pat on his predecessor’s promise.
Last month, he released a statement via a spokeswoman to the Las Vegas Review-Journal saying that he is against raising taxes to help fund a proposed $1 billion ballpark for the franchise, but also hinted that existing development programs may be of use.
In his most recent comments to the Review-Journal from February 13, however, Lombardo seemed to leave that possibility open, saying that those discussions “ are so early in the process that it would be detrimental for me to even talk about any details.”
He added that as of now, “it’s all been ancillary conversations.”
Lombardo will oversee a slew of high-profile sporting events coming through Las Vegas in the next 15 or so months, including the much-anticipated Formula One (F1) Las Vegas Grand Prix race in November as well as the next Super Bowl, scheduled for February 11, 2024.
Not to mention, the West Regional bracket of the men’s college basketball March Madness tournament will come to the city for the first time next month.
The F1 race in particular could be a game-changer for the city, as it has already been approved by the Clark County Commission as an annual event for at least the next 10 years. Due to the high-profile international clientele the race will attract, many expect the overall economic impact of the race to surpass $1 billion.
F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm were both on-hand for Lombardo’s State of the State address.
Lombardo told the Review-Journal that he is “excited to bring them into the state of Nevada and be their host. It’s going to be a fantastic deal for us.”
With regards to the A’s stadium search, the team’s list of possible landing spots in Las Vegas has been pared down to just two, after more than two years of discussions: those are the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas, which was just acquired by Bally’s Corp., and the site of the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, which is owned by casino entrepreneur Phil Ruffin. But last week, the site of the Rio hotel casino has come into the mix, which is owned by a New York hotel conglomerate. There’s room on the property for both a stadium and the hotel.
The team is also trying to gain traction with a $12 billion development in Oakland’s Howard Terminal, centered around a $1 billion ballpark, but the response has been less than stellar thus far, to the extent that even MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that he has little faith in the team’s ability to stay in the Bay Area.
According to the Review-Journal, a meeting was held earlier this year between Ruffin, nearby casino owners and A’s brass to discuss the possibility of building a stadium on the Festival Grounds site, but no comment has been given on the matter.
