When last we heard from Raiders owner Mark Davis, he reiterated that he is serious about moving the team to Las Vegas if the city can put together a plan to build a new stadium.
Nothing has changed on that front in the last few weeks. Las Vegas Sands senior vice president Ron Reese said that Davis has been to the city “a half-dozen times” in the last couple of months and that his company is continuing to work on putting together that stadium plan.
“It’s a major investment,” Reese said, via USA Today. “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.”
The question of the public end of that partnership remains unanswered. There have been proposals calling for contributions of $500 or $750 million raised from hotel room taxes. In the meantime, work is being done to settle on a site for the stadium in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this week that four sites are under consideration by the Raiders, the Sands and Majestic Realty, which comprise the private half of the partnership.
“We’re much further along in looking at sites than people realize,” Las Vegas Sands exec Andy Abboud said. “We want to be somewhere along the resort corridor along the Las Vegas Strip. I think we can get that resolved by the end of July. We may go forward after July with two potential sites and determine the best one.”
Oakland is still pushing for a plan that could keep the Raiders from moving, although the prospect of the Raiders landing in Vegas may have become more likely this offseason.
