Raiders Granted 30-Year Lease By Las Vegas Stadium Authority
LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) -- One of the last major hurdles to the Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas was cleared Thursday when the nine-member Stadium Authority Board unanimously approved a 30-year lease allowing the team to play in their planned $1.9 billion stadium.
The NFL owners must now vote to ratify the lease at the league meeting next week before construction can begin on the new facility that is expected to be finished in time for the 2020 season.
Earlier this month, the Raiders had finalized their $77.5 million purchase of 62 acres for the stadium near Russell Road and Interstate 15.
However, it was not all good news for the project on Thursday.
Nevada Department of Transportation director Rudy Malfabon told officials that the almost $200 million in Interstate 15 projects tied to the new stadium site would not be completed by 2020.
No terms of the new lease have been announced.
Until the new stadium is built, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has said he plans to continue to play the team's home games at the Oakland Coliseum. The team has an option to play at the Coliseum for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, but it's unclear where the team might play in 2019.
