Raiders Owner Mark Davis on Thursday vowed to "attempt to relocate the Raiders to Las Vegas if a stadium is constructed primarily for his team," pledging $500M from the team toward the project, according to Matt Youmans of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Las Vegas Sands and Majestic Realty would contribute about $150M, and $750M "would come from taxes on tourists." Davis and the Raiders presented the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee a plan to build the $1.4B, 65,000-seat stadium "near the Strip." The project "would be funded through a public-private partnership including the Raiders, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Majestic Realty." The SNTIC does not have the "authority to approve the project or the tax diversions or increases needed to fund it." The Nevada Legislature "would have final say." The Raiders' current home, Oakland Alameda Coliseum, is the NFL's third-oldest venue. The team has agreed to play the '16 season in Oakland "on a one-year lease, but has no home beyond this season." Davis "expressed confidence the NFL would approve his move." A franchise relocation "requires the approval of 24 of the league's 32 owners," and the league "rejected the Raiders' attempt to move" to L.A. this year. But Davis said, "We'll make them an offer they can't refuse." Youmans notes the proposed stadium, also "planned as a new home for UNLV football, would take about three years to build." While the stadium's location "isn't settled, and the seating capacity might expand to 70,000 or more, the plan calls for an operable roof on the dome and a grass playing surface" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/29).
CHANGING COLORS: Davis said that the Raiders while the stadium was being built "likely would play one preseason game a year at 35,500-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas." The team would "maintain their home base" in California and and "play home games" at the Coliseum (ESPN.com, 4/28). Davis on Thursday said to the SNTIC, "We do want to be your partners. We're not coming in looking for a free handout. I want to tell you what I told [Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval] a few weeks ago: Together, we can turn the Silver State into the Silver and Black State." Davis added a move to Las Vegas would be a "lifetime commitment" for him (LAS VEGAS SUN, 4/29). NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday morning said the league believes the team staying in Oakland "would be the most positive outcome" for the franchise. He said owners will consider the "gambling, the market, the stadium (and) all the other aspects" of a potential relocation should it come to a vote. Gambling is legal in Nevada, and Goodell said, "If people feel like it is going to have an influence on the outcome of a game, we are absolutely opposed to that, and that is why we are opposed to team sports gambling. ... If that is a line that would be crossed, we would be absolutely opposed” ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 4/29).
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS: Sports industry veteran Andy Dolich said that Davis "has powerful allies" in Las Vegas in Majestic Realty Chair & CEO Ed Roski and Las Vegas Sands Chair & CEO Sheldon Adelson. In California, David DeBolt in a front-page piece notes Roski "helped lead the development" of Staples Center in downtown L.A. and has an estimated net worth of $4.7B. Dolich said, "Majestic Realty and Ed Roski are a serious, professionally run organization that knows the complexities surrounding the business of sports" (EAST BAY TIMES, 4/29). ESPN.com's David Purdum noted Adelson "owns one of the largest convention centers in Las Vegas, the Sands Expo and Convention Center." However, the Raiders' potential move is a "hot-button topic" for some Vegas locals, as is the case "any time the controversial Adelson is involved, and it's expected to face stern opposition from competing interests with deep pockets" (ESPN.com, 4/28).
LIGHTS, CAMERAS, HAZARD: In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta in a front-page piece notes McCarran Int'l Airport officials "already have expressed misgivings" about the stadium site at previous SNTIC meetings. There are concerns the FAA "could limit flights on the airport's north-south runways." Clark County Department of Aviation Dir Rosemary Vassiliadis added that traffic along key routes to the airport "could create traffic jams on gamedays." Fireworks displays or laser shows near the stadium also "could create hazards for pilots flying in and out on those runways." Sources "listed several potential locations under consideration." SNTIC Chair Steve Hill said that "sorting out those ideas will be a key topic at the committee's May 26 meeting" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/29).
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: SI.com's Avi Creditor reported David Beckham and Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke on Thursday appeared alongside Davis and Adelson at the meeting "speaking about the possibilities a new football stadium would mean for soccer" in Las Vegas. Beckham said, "To bring a great organization like the Raiders to something like Vegas is incredible, but it's bigger than that. It's a bigger idea, it's about the MLS coming here, it's about bringing the biggest European teams here like Manchester United." Leiweke followed Beckham, urging Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman that a Raiders stadium "could pay dividends with an MLS expansion franchise." Leiweke: "There are a lot of cities now chasing those last four franchises. But with your stadium, with this ownership group and with the might and support of the Raiders, you will never have a greater opportunity to have an MLS team" (SI.com, 4/28). MLS Exec VP/Communications Dan Courtemanche said, "Goodman has always been a strong supporter of bringing a Major League Soccer expansion team to the city. We will continue to monitor Las Vegas as a possible MLS expansion market in the future." Courtemanche said that a prospective ownership group "has yet to approach the league office with a plan to bring MLS to Las Vegas" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/29).
