The Raiders' bid to move to Las Vegas has not been approved by NFL owners, but Nevada’s public investment in the team’s proposed $1.9B stadium "already is accumulating," according to Adam Candee of the LAS VEGAS SUN. A room tax increase "dedicated to funding" Nevada’s $750M contribution toward the stadium began collection March 1, but the team remains "quite a good distance from being able to access any of that money." Senate Bill 1, approved by a special session of the Nevada Legislature in October, "dictated the starting point for the imposition of the tax." The NFL will "not meet for another two weeks to deliberate on the team’s application to relocate to Las Vegas." The bill "applies an additional tax" of 0.88% to rooms rented on the Strip and some adjacent areas to the west and south, and 0.5% to rooms "within the remainder of the stadium district, an area within a 25-mile radius of the Clark County Government Center near downtown." As that money comes in, it will be "managed by Clark County." The tax funds will "back bonds issued to cover" the $750M "committed to the stadium by state legislators" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 3/17).
JUST WIN, BABY: Former Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask on Wednesday was on "The Rich Eisen Show," claiming that late owner Al Davis would be "torn about his team potentially moving to Las Vegas." Trask said, "He'd be heartbroken to see the team leave. But ... he'd love the Las Vegas market and be thrilled the team had a magnificent stadium." Trask added, "Fundamentally and ultimately, what Al wanted was for the organization to succeed. And to have a magnificent stadium. ... There are times I think it’s fairly certain it’s going to occur but I learned years and years ago, and this was my experience in every owners meeting I ever attended, you really don’t know how a vote will go until you walk in that room for the vote to be taken. So even though many signs point to yes, I don’t think it’s for sure yet" (REVIEWJOURNAL.com, 3/16).
