WASHINGTON — Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has been a frequent visitor to Las Vegas recently as his pursuit to move the franchise to Sin City continues.
“Mark Davis has been to Las Vegas a half-dozen times the last six or eight weeks,” Ron Reese, a senior vice president at the Las Vegas Sands Corp., said at a symposium organized by the American Gaming Association on Thursday. “The Raiders are serious about it.”
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the CEO and chairman of Sands, is leading an effort to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium at a cost of $1.4 billion.
“It’s a major investment,” Reese said. “The NFL has expressed a strong desire for a public-private partnership. Our organization is taking the lead, working with the Raiders to create public-private support for this.”
One proposal for the stadium calls for $500 million in public funding, which would come from hotel room taxes. Another plan suggests $750 million in public funding, which would be a record for an NFL stadium. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this week that there are four sites around Las Vegas that are under consideration for the stadium.
The topic of the Raiders was touched on throughout the American Gaming Association forum that drew stakeholders and experts from around the casino and sports betting industry. One major roadblock for a stadium is whether the NFL is ready to have a franchise based in Nevada, the only state that allows nearly unfettered sports betting.
A half-dozen owners surveyed by USA TODAY Sports last month said they’d support the Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas if a deal could not be struck for a new stadium in Oakland. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told USA TODAY Sports that the league’s view of the risks of sports betting in Las Vegas has evolved.
“I’m thinking like a fan,” Kraft said. “Traveling to Vegas for visiting fans to see their team play would be fun. That part would be good. And thinking about Vegas and the rotation of Super Bowls. They have the infrastructure for big events.”
The NFL could place limits on sports betting if the Raiders relocate to Las Vegas, including possibly forbidding betting on the team's games at sports books.
The NHL is set to become the first major sports league to base a team in Las Vegas. An expansion franchise that will begin play in the 2017-18 season was approved by the league last week.
