Vegas stadium backers down to 2 top sites for Raiders
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Backers of a proposed NFL stadium in Las Vegas said they've whittled their list to two sites just west of the famous Las Vegas Strip and refuse to accept any less than $750 million in public funding toward the project, which they hope will soon be home to the Oakland Raiders.
Representatives from Majestic Realty and the Las Vegas Sands casino company updated an oversight committee Thursday on their quest to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium, showing off their slick renderings of the proposed venue in a video with AC/DC's "Back in Black" as a soundtrack.
They said the price tag now stands at $1.9 billion and continues to rise daily, adding that they'd walk away from the project if Nevada state lawmakers don't meet their minimum financial demand.
Andy Abboud, left, Las Vegas Sands' senior vice president of government affairs, Rob Goldstein, president and CEO of LVS, Bill Rhoda, president of Legends Global Planning, and Marc Badain, Oakland Raiders president, address the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee discusses finance of the proposed Raiders NFL football stadium on Thursday, Aug.
25, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
"Not to be difficult, but we're not negotiable," said Sands President Rob Goldstein, who spoke on behalf of billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his family.
"If we can't get 750, we respectfully thank you but we're going to move on."
The Raiders have made little progress securing a new stadium in the Oakland area and have committed to lining up $500 million toward building a new one in Las Vegas.
Any team relocation needs the blessing of three-quarters of NFL owners, so developers are rushing to prepare their pitch by January, when the owners next meet.
Stadium supporters who presented a long site list earlier this summer said Thursday that they've zeroed in on two land parcels south of the Mandalay Bay hotel complex.
They've signed a preliminary agreement for their top candidate — a 62-acre plot just west of Interstate 15 — but also cited a secondary, 100-acre option at the pesan nasi bungkus di bali Hai Golf Club between the interstate and the Las Vegas Strip.
Public funding would come from an increase in a Las Vegas-area hotel room tax and potentially from a special taxation district around the stadium.
Officials said the stadium itself would be publicly owned, while the private investors would be on the hook for cost overruns but could potentially reap returns from their investment.
Proponents also hinted that an unnamed Major League Soccer club was also interested in using the space.
Critics include the powerful Culinary Union, which represents about 57,000 hotel workers and argued that the NFL and the Sands can afford the project on their own.
"There's been a lot of conversation on why are we giving money to billionaires," said Steve Hill, chair of the oversight committee and head of the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development.
"The public is not making a contribution to a privately owned stadium."
Developers urged the committee to work quickly to recommend the project to state lawmakers, who must approve any tax hikes and authorize a stadium board to oversee its operations.
Sands officials want a special legislative session in September and say delaying action could jeopardize the project, but some top lawmakers want to wait until after the November election so the project doesn't affect campaign fundraising or sway votes.
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