The Las Vegas Raiders are heading into the offseason with a win in the real estate market after they sold their Henderson, Nev., headquarters and practice facility for a monstrous profit.
The Raiders are selling the 55 acres of land near the Henderson Executive Airport to Chicago-based Mesirow Financial for $191 million, or 30 times the $6.05 million that the team paid for the property back in 2018. The Raiders will now lease the location back from Mesirow.
Some argue that the Raiders’ move is a massive real estate flip at the taxpayers’ expense.
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— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) February 26, 2020
Henderson gives Raiders a ridiculous sweetheart deal on parcel.
Raiders sell land for 30X what they bought it for, then leased it back. $185M profit.
In any other context, this would be an outrage, taxpayer theft.
But it's Raiders, so no biggie.#Raidersville https://t.co/rMfGWqzd39
According to public records seen by Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders entered into a ground lease at the site and subleased it right back, indicating the team still owns, but is now renting, the land underneath the complex.
The Raiders are in the process of finishing the estimated $75 million facility and won’t move in until right before the start of the 2020 season, but the sale of the property will help cover the cost of building the facility.
After closing on the sale of the property to Mesirow, the Raiders agreed to a 29-year lease, with seven 10-year extension options.