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Tourism Committee Recommends Cutting $200M In Funding For NFL Stadium In Vegas

A new financing plan that "reduces public funding" for a $1.4B domed NFL stadium from $700M to $550M "received a lackluster response Thursday from the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee," according to a front-page piece by Richard Velotta of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The stadium’s development partners, Las Vegas Sands, Majestic Realty and the Raiders, "also seemed wary of the revised plan, noting they got their first look at it late Wednesday afternoon." The "cool response to the plan" and the committee’s "lack of progress on the proposal Thursday puts additional pressure on the panel to deliver a recommendation to Gov. Brian Sandoval and state lawmakers by the end of July." The recommendations of the 11-member committee "are nonbinding." In testimony before the committee, "it was clear none of the parties have met with each other to seriously discuss site options" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/24). In Las Vegas, J.D. Morris notes the Raiders "would be responsible" for $500M, while Sands and Majestic "would contribute" $400M. Raiders President Marc Badain told the committee that while his team "remained excited about the stadium, it was 'disappointed by what we saw today.'" He said that the Raiders "had received 'very positive' feedback from others in the NFL," and he indicated that the potential $750M public contribution "was a big part of that." He said, "The signal that today will send, bringing the 750 down to the 550, will be negative. It will be perceived as a negative. So we need to be cognizant of that and what that does to the process" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 6/24).

WE CAN WORK IT OUT
: Las Vegas Sands Senior VP/Government Relations & Community Development Andy Abboud said, "We are going to find a way to make this work." The AP's Ken Ritter noted committee members "dug into projections about a rate of return for private investors," including Las Vegas Sands Chair & CEO Sheldon Adelson, and the "crucial question of where a stadium could be built." Abboud said that possible overruns "would be borne by the private developers." Abboud: "I know there's cynicism about subsidizing a billionaire, but you're not" (AP, 6/23). In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore notes the $200M funding gap and a final decision on a site "divided the two sides." But with multiple destinations in play, a "willingness by both sides to make a deal work and enough money on either end to close the gap, a path seems to be clearing to making it happen." That was the "mutual takeaway Thursday." Sources believe that "there is time and motivation to make" a deal happen (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/24).

SAFE BET: ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick said of the possibility of Las Vegas being home to an NFL franchise, “As long as it’s subject to the proper regulations, procedures and protocols, I don’t think (gambling is) something that now should really discount Vegas as a viable option for a team to want to move there. I think now the issue is whether or not Vegas can really support a pro sports team, a pro NFL type of team. Do they have the fan base over the next 20-30 years that will buy the amount of season tickets that they need to have bought? Will they buy the number of premium seats, the number of suite sales? Do they have that kind of infrastructure?" Riddick said, “It would take, obviously, a very sweet stadium deal, a deal where they can make the kind of money that they need to make in order to stay competitive with the other 31 teams in the NFL” (“OTL,” ESPN, 6/23). Las Vegas NHL team Owner Bill Foley, who this week was awarded a franchise, said, "The NFL would be great here. They have a different fan base than we do. I don't think it will affect us" (ESPN.com, 6/23).

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