Potential naming-rights deals for new NFL stadiums in L.A. and Las Vegas "could set records," according to Don Muret of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Phoenix-based sports marketing firm Gemini Sports Group President Rob Yowell said that he "thinks the Raiders’ stadium could fetch" between $15-18M a year over 20 years. By comparison, naming rights to the Rams-Chargers stadium under construction in Inglewood, Calif., could hit $20M a year and, "driven by its location in the country’s second-biggest market, potentially up to" $30M a year. MetLife Stadium has the "top naming-rights deal in North American sports" with a value of $16M to $25M a year. The Rams hired Legends Global Sales to "sell naming rights in Inglewood." Sources said that multiple firms are "competing for the role in Las Vegas" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/3 issue).
A PLACE TO CALL HOME: In Las Vegas, Jon Saraceno reported Raiders Owner Mark Davis and President Marc Badain are "formulating contingency plans in case Alameda County officials attempt to break a lease designed to retain the Raiders" at Oakland Coliseum through the '18 season. Among the cities and stadiums under consideration in case of emergency are San Antonio (Alamodome), Santa Clara (Levi’s Stadium) and San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium). Davis "prefers to play in Oakland" in '18. Badain said that playing regular-season games at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium is "problematical but not impossible, and might happen" in '19. Davis said that it is "likely that the Raiders will play some preseason games at Sam Boyd." NFL officials in recent weeks "visited Sam Boyd to examine what would need to be reconfigured to a minimum standard for the Raiders to play there during the regular season." Minimum requirements exist for NFL broadcasts, and the league does "not want the on-air product to suffer if those conditions cannot be met." The most pressing issue is "lack of adequate space along the sidelines to produce a high-quality broadcast" by the league’s national TV partners at Fox, NBC, CBS, ESPN and NFL Network. It might be "possible to remove seats in the lower section along the sidelines and replace them with additional end-zone seating." The locker rooms would "need upgrading and seating capacity would be expanded to enable the Raiders to generate more revenue to help defray stadium expenditures." Badain said, "You would have to put a lot of money (into it)" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/2).
BUILDING BLOCKS: In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta noted Southern Nevada construction industry experts say that "whoever ends up building the planned 65,000-seat stadium" for the Raiders will face a "massive challenge to get it done by the opening" of the '20 NFL season. The enormity of the project, the long checklist of approvals necessary to get started and a potential labor shortage once work begins are "among the roadblocks" facing the Raiders, their development partner and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA). Between today and the middle of August '20 are 1,230 days. It took contractors working on AT&T Stadium "1,346 days to complete from groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/2). LVSA Chair Steve Hill said that reps including Raiders Exec VP & General Counsel Dan Ventrelle and Las Vegas-based financial consultancy Applied Analysis Principal Jeremy Aguero "have been in regular contact to discuss outstanding lease issues." Hill said, "My sense is there are some open items for the April (board) meeting. We’ll bring back a document that I would anticipate would be pretty close." Hill added that three other documents "must be completed as well: a development agreement to build the stadium; a shared-use agreement with co-tenant UNLV; and a nonrelocation agreement with the Raiders." In Las Vegas, Adam Candee notes Hill "anticipates the development agreement will take the most time to work through, but that all four contracts will be ratified by the board at once" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 4/3).
OFF TO COLLEGE: ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura wrote when Las Vegas’ 65,000-seat domed stadium opens in '20, it will have "far-reaching effects on college football." The "most obvious, immediate impact" will be for UNLV, who will be "co-tenants with the Raiders." UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said, "The stadium is going to be right on the edge of the strip, so you’re going to have sports fans who are in town, and now you’ve got a Saturday game. Hey, maybe now you go watch the Rebels play." Meanwhile, Bonagura wrote with a new stadium, there is a "strong case to be made" that the Las Vegas Bowl "deserves to be slotted higher so it features higher-caliber teams" (ESPN.com, 3/31).
