Raiders One Step Closer To Las Vegas Move

Things aren’t looking good for keeping the Oakland Raiders in the Bay Area. The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee approved $750M in public funding yesterday for a domed stadium, bringing Las Vegas one step closer to having its own NFL team, reports MarketWatch. The Raiders also trademarked the “Las Vegas Raiders” earlier this summer. 

The move is not yet a done deal. The stadium would cost upwards of $1.9B, which would be funded through a proposed hotel tax that still needs approval from the governor and state legislature. A super-majority among the NFL’s 32 owners also has to be reached.

The stadium is expected to be partially financed by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who plans to shell out $650M, according to the Associated Press. The Raiders would provide $500M toward the development, reports SF Gate. 

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff told multiple news sources that she will continue to work on a deal with the team to keep them in Oakland. The mayor has said Oakland has 100 acres available to build a new stadium. The team previously declared Oakland unfit for the Raiders after negotiations with local officials to keep the team in Oakland stalled earlier this year.

Adding insult to injury, Overstock opted out of the final year of its six-year naming rights deal at the stadium earlier this year. The online retailer would have provided $1.3M split between the Raiders, Oakland and Alameda County. The Raiders have used these funds in the past to supplement their rent.

The Raiders agreed to a rent extension that increased rent from $925k to around $3.5M in the first year, but would come down to about $1M if the team agreed to stay for another year or more.  The Raiders will remain in Oakland until 2017.