Raiders reps and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority BOD on Thursday "attempted to calm concerns about the franchise's proposed move to Las Vegas," according to Adam Candee of the LAS VEGAS SUN. Raiders President Marc Badain told board members that financing "will not be an issue" following Las Vegas Sands Chair & CEO Sheldon Adelson's decision last week to pull back a $650M commitment toward the $1.9B stadium project. Badain said "multiple financial institutions" have called to express interest in joining the project. However, Badain did "not name any of those companies, nor did he detail if any of them are local entities or indicate how far into discussions the team progressed" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 2/10). In Oakland, Elliott Almond reports Las Vegas officials have "received queries from at least a half-dozen suitors interested in filling" the void left by Adelson and Goldman Sachs. Clark County (Nev.) Commission Chair Steve Sisolak said that he has "forwarded all inquiries to Raiders officials, including one from a local Las Vegas developer with the resources to provide a substantial investment." Another came "from a Japanese consortium and a third from a European group." Meanwhile, Sisolak "remains hopeful he can re-start negotiations between the Raiders and the Adelsons." But the departure of Adelson could be "viewed as helpful," based on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s comments last week about casino owners "not having a stake in either a team or stadium" (EAST BAY TIMES, 2/10). ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez noted the Raiders have pledged $500M to the stadium project and have identified a 62-acre plot near the south end of Las Vegas as their "preferred site." Badain said that he "hoped the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority could make progress on the lease proposal the team submitted last month" (ESPN.com, 2/9).
BLACK MARK? In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta notes Badain apologized for the "public uproar created by a draft lease that would have restricted UNLV’s use" of the proposed stadium. Badain: "There won’t be any issues between us and UNLV over field markings. I’m sorry that got blown out of proportion." The draft lease, submitted Jan. 26, required the Raiders' approval of UNLV's football schedule and "could have prevented UNLV from having its own home field markings" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/10).
