With the Nevada state legislature making quick decisions concerning funding for a new stadium for the Oakland Raiders, owner Mark Davis may have to follow through on his promise to move the team to Las Vegas. Following a designated public forum at the state capitol on Tuesday, the Nevada Senate voted 16-5 in approval of a $1.4 billion public funding package to build the Raiders a new home stadium and convention center in Las Vegas.
The total estimated cost of the stadium is $1.9 billion, $750 million of which was unanimously approved in a Nevada oversight committee last month. The plan assumes that the approved $750 million will be raised through an increase in hotel tax at the Las Vegas Sands.
Sheldon Adelson of the Sands Casino Group has pledged $650 million to the project, standing behind his words to CBS when he vowed to see to it that the Raiders had a home in Las Vegas pending the approval of the $750 million. An additional $500 million is to be supplied by the team. Ongoing expenses are expected to be covered by taxes generated on stadium grounds, estimated at about $35 million per year.
While supporters of the stadium anticipate a welcome increase of business and tax revenue, protestors are calling it a “high risk investment.” Prior to the forum on Tuesday, Clark County Commissioner Chris Guinchigliani told News 3 that this would be the “largest tax increase in the history of the state of Nevada.”
Moving forward from the Senate vote, the proposal is to be presented Thursday before the Nevada General Assembly. The relocation of the team must also be approved by 75% of NFL owners, who are not scheduled to meet again until January.
