If anyone thought that the Raiders ownership was joking about moving to Las Vegas, they had a rude awakening today. Mark Davis traveled to Las Vegas to deliver his pitch for a football arena to be built on the Las Vegas Strip.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Raiders owner Mark Davis says he wants to move the team to Las Vegas and is willing to spend a half billion dollars as part of a deal for a new stadium in the city.
Davis upped the ante in a bid to move the team to this gambling city, appearing Thursday alongside soccer great David Beckham and billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson before a committee studying the idea of a $1.4 billion stadium.
He told committee members he is not a billionaire but will put $500 million — with $200 million of that coming from an NFL loan — into funding the stadium to move the team to Las Vegas.
The hotel industry would fund the remaining amount for the stadium using tourist taxes. That means that the local Las Vegas communities aren’t hit with higher taxes, which is what happens to other cities when facilities are built, and that the Las Vegas strip sees a direct benefit from their raised taxes.
The biggest hurdle is receiving the 66% vote or approval needed from the other NFL owners to relocate. If they can’t see the benefits of a stadium in the entertainment capital of the world then they are blind.
