Raiders’ Davis Hedging Stadium Bets

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis says a $750 million public contribution toward a National Football League stadium is “the bottom line” on whether the team makes Las Vegas its new home.

Photo: Mikayla Whitmore / Las Vegas Sun via AP

This dirt lot in Las Vegas could be the future site of a $1.6 billion NFL stadium as officials continue to tinker with funding formulas to make it pencil out to the satisfaction of Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis, who says the city needs to kick in $750 million.

The Las Vegas Sun reports Davis made the comments June 3 at the Silverton casino in Sin City, while in town for Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame weekend. The Raiders want to move because Oakland hasn’t made significant progress toward building a new stadium.

The Las Vegas Sands casino company owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson is championing a domed Las Vegas stadium costing upward of $1.6 billion.

The controversial proposal calls for at least $750 million in public financing, likely from a hotel or car rental tax. Davis, as well as tourism officials and Las Vegas business leaders, are bullish on the prospects of getting the deal done.

But locals note that Davis’s own commitment to the funding formula has decreased. According to the Sun, Davis appeared April 28 before the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee to commit $500 million from the Raiders. But the formula, when broken down a month later, now includes $200 million from the NFL and $110 million in personal seat license shares that were originally included in the Raiders’ share – which has since been penciled in at $100 million.

At the same time, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp./Majestic Realty now is down for $240 million, up from $200 million in April.

Daily Pulse