Las Vegas Sands exec Andy Abboud called a report of Sands Chair & CEO Sheldon Adelson expressing frustration regarding stadium negotiations with the Raiders a "nonstory," according to Jackie Valley of the LAS VEGAS SUN. Abboud, Sands' Senior VP/Government Relations & Community Development, said that Adelson was "simply describing how he negotiates." Abboud: "We were with the Raiders all day yesterday. Nothing to worry about. A negotiation is a negotiation" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 10/28). Mark Davis on Thursday said of Adelson's initial statement, "It’s a non-story. I have no comment on it." In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta notes representatives of the Raiders and Sands "met in Las Vegas on Wednesday to go over details of agreements that will go before the stadium authority board in advance of construction." Abboud said that Sands President & COO Rob Goldstein and CFO Patrick Dumont "met with Raiders executives" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/28).
NO SURE THING: CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson wrote negotiations between Adelson and Davis could be "an expensive, slow game of chicken." The Raiders are "planning to move, but Davis isn't setting a time frame and he doesn't want a short one because he has to wait for the vote." But he also "has to maximize the financial viability of the move in order to get the NFL owners to approve it." Adelson obviously wants the "best possible deal he can get, which is why he's not afraid to threaten the Raiders with the possibility of pulling the entire project." As much as the Raiders "seem like a done deal to Vegas, this is a stark reminder that nothing is certain when it comes to relocation" (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/27). CSNBAYAREA.com’s Ray Ratto said Davis is “discovering that, because he has no leverage, anybody willing to help him is really willing to help themselves to a piece of what he owns and he’s trying to hold on to that.” Ratto: “If he gets the votes to go to Las Vegas, I suspect they’re going to come with a price tag from the other owners which is, ‘You divest yourself of operational control over an extended period of time.’” SI’s Phil Taylor said, “The fact that Adelson isn’t willing to play along and make it seem as though he and Mark Davis are in lockstep definitely hurts Davis and makes it more likely the whole Vegas thing isn’t going to work” (“Sports Talk Live,” CSN Bay Area, 10/27).
ROUND AND ROUND: In S.F., Scott Ostler writes the Raiders will "wind up playing at Levi's Stadium." Ostler: "Within two years, is my guess." If Oakland "falls through as a stadium site, the best option is Levi’s." The 49ers will be "motivated to rent to the Raiders, since the 49ers’ master plan -- decades of sold-out games -- is springing major leaks" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/28). CSNBAYAREA.com's Ratto wrote Davis "needs money to improve his team’s business profile, and anyone offering to help is going to want a significant piece of the business he is trying to improve in exchange." There is "no perfect scenario for Davis." He either "gets a new home but loses a chunk of the only thing that makes him famous and/or rich, or he stays in a city whose power brokers are unmoved by his demands for better treatment." So he can either "roll the dice and aim for the stars, knowing that anyone offering to help him is actually offering to help themselves to his belongings, or he can sit back and get comfortable with doing (and getting) nothing at all" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 10/27).
