Nevada Assembly Approves Raiders Stadium Bill
CARSON CITY (CBS SF) – The Nevada Assembly voted Friday to approve legislation that includes $750 million in public funding for the construction of a professional football stadium in Las Vegas.
The new stadium could become the new home of the Oakland Raiders and the UNLV Running Rebels football team.
Raiders owner Mark Davis, who has been working with a group on Las Vegas on the stadium proposal, thanked the Nevada lawmakers in a prepared statement Friday.
"I would like to thank Governor Sandoval, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, and the members of the Nevada Legislature on this historic day," he said. "All parties have worked extremely hard to develop and approve this tremendous stadium project that will serve as a proud new home for the entire Raider Nation."
The funding was part of a $1.1 billion public funding package that was debated late into the night on Thursday.
The Assembly recessed without a decision and reconvened at around 11 a.m. The lawmakers then quickly passed the measure 28-13 – narrowly meeting the two-thirds majority required by the state constitution.
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The state Senate had previously approved a similar bill by a 16-5 vote, but it will return to the Senate one last time for the purposes of ironing out any differences between the two versions of the bill.
Then it will go to the desk of Gov. Brian Sandoval for signature.
The bill gives Las Vegas businessman Sheldon Adelson and the Oakland Raiders $750 million for a proposed 65,000 seat, $1.9 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas, as well as $400 million for upgrades to the convention center.
The stadium funding will come from a 0.88 percent increase in the room tax on the Las Vegas Strip while the convention center would come from a 0.5 percent increase elsewhere in Clark County.
Under the stadium plan, Adelson will give $650 million of his own financing and the Raiders would contribute $500 million to the project.
Now the Raiders need to secure 24 votes in favor of allowing the Raiders to relocate from the 32 NFL team owners.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell opposes the move, but at least two owners -- Dallas' Jerry Jones and New England's Robert Kraft -- believe the move would be good for the league.
"Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft have told me the NFL is ready to do it," casino owner Steve Wynn told legislators during the debate.
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