The Las Vegas Stadium Authority board's "savvy at the bargaining table will undergo a major stress test" following Thursday’s revelation that the Raiders' move to Las Vegas could be delayed until '21 if their lease is "not ready for NFL owners to approve at their May 22-23 spring meeting," according to Adam Candee of the LAS VEGAS SUN. Raiders President Marc Badain said, "If you miss the May deadline and push to October, we would lose a year. Everybody wants to get this project going. Everybody wants to get these guys to work, so we want to respect that.” LVSA Chair Steve Hill said, "The NFL has directly asked us to attempt to have a lease approved by the owners meeting. There has been no ‘get this done or else’ type of approach on this request.” The "'or else' piece, though, appears to be the specter of a lost season for the Las Vegas Raiders, a team already without a clear home" for '19 while '20 also now comes into question. However, LVSA and Raiders reps "met daily this week and resolved a number of items including lease renewal rights, performance metric structures and financial audit procedures." Badain and Hill also "both expressed confidence that outstanding issues with the 30-year lease agreement can be solved in coming days." Foremost among sticking points for the authority is "ensuring the stadium events company retained by the Raiders brings in enough events to meet tourism revenue projections that spurred" the state’s $750M public investment in the $1.7B facility (LAS VEGAS SUN, 5/12). The AP's Regina Garcia Cano noted the LVSA on Thursday "discussed progress on the 30-year lease, including a fund that would cover capital expenses that come up as the facility ages." A planning official from Clark County also "presented board members with an approximately 150-day timeline of a detailed review that the project must undergo before major construction can begin" (AP, 5/11).
ROSTER MAKEUP: In Las Vegas, Richard Velotta notes the Raiders are "close to announcing the selection of a general contractor" for the planned domed stadium. Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction will "partner with McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. of Henderson on the project." Badain said that the contract "hasn’t be finalized but terms are near completion." Mortenson "dazzled its hometown by delivering occupancy" of the Vikings' U.S. Bank Stadium a "month and a half ahead of schedule." Mortenson "also built SunTrust Park" for the Braves and is working on the future home of the Bucks. Badain also confirmed that K.C.-based Manica Architecture is the project designer (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/12).
