With the NFL season in full swing, the effort to build a stadium in Las Vegas to host a relocated Oakland Raiders franchise shifted into high gear last week.
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee approved a measure that would commit public money to the stadium project. The ball is now in the court of Governor Brian Sandoval, who will likely call a special session of the legislature to consider the measure.
“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the members of the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee and its Technical Advisory Council for their tireless efforts and dedication to completing the recently approved recommendations,” Sandoval said in a release. “Nevada’s best interests were always the top priority in this process. I will 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. I will not move forward until all questions have been resolved.”
A special session of the legislature (it normally meets every two years for only a few months) will consider public financing for the stadium. The backers—Las Vegas Sands, Majestic Realty and the Raiders—say time is of the essence and a decision must be made quickly, and are asking for a special session to be scheduled by the end of September.
The tourism committee committed to a public contribution of $750 million via an addition $1 tax on hotel rooms in Las Vegas. LVS Chairman Sheldon Adelson has personally pledged $650 million, while Raiders’ owner Mark Davis is putting up $500 million. Total cost is expected to be $1.9 billion.
But the public contribution may be even more since there was no cap placed on that number as a percentage of the total cost (despite a likely cap for the developers’ contributions). The public would also not share in any profits generated by the stadium, which will all go to the developers over the life of the facility.
Legislators may balk at a special session, however, because of uncertainty surrounding the location of the stadium, what happens in the event of cost overruns, and other issues, such as how this would impact the growth of the convention center. And a special session would land in the middle of election season, something that would impact the campaigns of the legislators.
“If we can iron out the details and it makes sense, obviously we’d like to see it happen. But also, anytime you rush something you miss stuff,” said Republican Senator Patricia Farley, who is not up for re-election. “Unfortunately, the business world, they don’t wait around for election cycles. I can certainly see why some people would want to wait.”
With more details, it would be easier to decide on a date, says Republican Assembly Majority Leader Paul Anderson.
“As soon as we’re at that point, we’ll commit and get it done quickly,” Anderson said. “But until that point—leaving the election cycle out of the picture—it doesn’t even make sense to talk about dates because we’re simply not there.”
Another element that irks legislators is the resistance of the developers to sharing any upside.
“There should be a return on investment for everybody involved,” Anderson said. “Whether that would be split over a certain timeframe, I don’t have an answer.”
