The Oakland Raiders? Maybe, but for how long? After roughly three hours of discussion, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee unanimously voted to recommend the Raiders stadium proposal in Las Vegas. This was a huge step in the possible relocation of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
The SNTIC Unanimously Recommends the Raiders Stadium Proposal
The meeting opened up with public comments supporting the Raiders stadium proposal. Most of those were in support of the because of the University of Nevada Las Vegas football program. UNLV currently plays in the antiquated Sam Boyd Stadium.
Once the public comments phase was over, it was down to business. Mayor Carol Goodman opened with one last ditch effort to push the Cashman Field site. Coincidentally, that is the only site actually in Las Vegas city limits. It did not take long though for the committee to that location. After that Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak took point.
After a bit of back and forth on two different plans, the SNTIC Unanimously voted to recommend the Raiders and Sands Corporation version of the Raiders stadium proposal.
The key component was the 750 million in public funding, no more, and no less, sourced directly form the SNTIC meeting page.
So what happens now?
Fans should expect Mark Davis and Sheldon Adelson to request a special session of the Nevada Legislature from Governor Sandoval immediately. That, by itself, does not mean that a special session can happen immediately though. The first thing is the Raiders Stadium Proposal is going to the Clark County Commissioners for review. That happens next Tuesday at 9am. After that there is a campaign funding law that needs to be scheduled around. There is also the possibility that Governor Sandoval pushes this proposal off to after the election.
One thing is clear, this is certainly not the last word on the potential move to Las Vegas. That said, today the Raiders and Nevada moved a lot closer to making a Raiders Stadium, in Las Vegas, a reality. Also, Mark Davis has been very clear, that if Nevada approves the 750 million in public funding, he will move the team there by 2020.
