Raiders to Las Vegas Closer to Reality With Funding Approval, Mark Davis Statement

Yesterday, there was quite a bit of passion from both sides of the issue. Union members from laborers to electricians spoke about needing work. Small business owners spoke about the need for increased tourism.

Opponents spoke about a stadium scam and needing more money for education. Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, a strong opponent of the Las Vegas NFL Stadium, became unhinged, and almost screamed at Nevada Lawmakers to vote no.

However, just like in the Nevada Senate on Tuesday, the opposition was not enough to prevent a two-thirds majority from passing the funding. The Senate passed the amended version shortly afterwords.

What now?

Mark Davis made a statement at Raiders.com

“I would like to thank Governor Sandoval, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, and the members of the Nevada Legislature on this historic day. ”

“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.”

Expect a bill signing ceremony Monday with Governor Brian Sandoval and Mark Davis, at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The Raiders will have 18 months from the signing to get the three-fourths of NFL owners to approve a relocation. With that in mind, Mark Davis will present the inked stadium deal to the NFL owners during meetings in Houston on October 18th.

The word I have is that NFL owners have been intrigued by the Las Vegas opportunity, and look forward to digging into the details of the deal. With the inked deal in hand it should give owners the proper amount of time to digest the details. Remember at the January owners meeting is when Mark will officially request relocation to Las Vegas.

With this project being funded, it might not be long before we start hearing the Las Vegas Raiders. That will probably take some time getting used to.

The tax increase will go into affect January 1st.