A potential Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas got a whole lot more difficult, as billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson announced his intention to withdraw funding from a proposed stadium plan.
Citing an impasse in the Raiders’ newly proposed agreement, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder pulled his family’s $650 million pledge to help construct a $1.9 billion stadium to house the NFL franchise in Nevada’s Clark County, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a publication Adelson owns.
“It’s clear the Raiders have decided their path for moving to Las Vegas does not include the Adelson family,” Adelson said in a statement to the Review-Journal. “So, regrettably, we will no longer be involved in any facet of the stadium discussion.”
Adelson’s $650 million was set to make up a third of the stadium’s funding, with the Raiders taking on a $500 million bill and taxpayers assuming the remaining $750 million in the form of hotel room taxes.
“This is not a wrench in the wheel, the wheel fell off,” Clark County Commission chair Steve Sisolak told The Nevada Independent. “This is an enormous setback in my opinion.”
Adelson reportedly took issue with the Raiders’ proposed stadium agreement, which included demands for a $1 annual rental fee, full control over UNLV’s football schedule in the stadium and 100 percent of revenue for the naming rights, among other requests, according to multiple reports.
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The Raiders filed paperwork with the NFL requesting a move to Las Vegas earlier this month, and owners are expected to vote on the matter in March, with the team needing support from 24 of the league’s 32 franchises. According to the Mercury News, Raiders owner Mark Davis was encouraged two weeks ago that Goldman Sachs could fill the $650 million stadium investment void left by Adelson.
The Raiders released a statement soon after Adelson’s withdrawal, praising his family’s work to advance relocation efforts to this point while remaining “steadfast” in their commitment to Las Vegas.
The Raiders have issued a statement to the Adelson family backing out of the Las Vegas… https://t.co/gxRT5QjfQu pic.twitter.com/v4QPTEztXT— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) January 31, 2017
Davis may have anticipated Adelson’s withdrawal, leaving his family’s name out of the NFL paperwork.
NFL source: Sheldon Adelson, who was to be financing $650M of the Raiders Vegas stadium, was not included in team's relocation application.— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 31, 2017
It remains to be seen whether Goldman Sachs will meet the Raiders’ demands that Adelson would not.
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