UNLV sees “no hurdles” in their negotiations with the Raiders for the new football stadium they’ll share, and they’ve hired a lawyer who charges $745 per hour to assist with the no hurdles that will be experienced.
Via the Las Vegas Sun, the school has hired Daniel Etna of Herrick Feinstein LLP to advise it through the process of working out a fair deal with the Raiders.
“Getting the best possible use agreement for UNLV will dictate its future in athletics,” University Regent Trevor Hayes said, via the Sun. “I support spending money to hire the best experts. Even if it costs $100,000, that equates to $3,333 per year for the 30-year life of the [lease]. A poor use agreement will put UNLV out of the Division I athletics business.”
The Raiders and UNLV are legally required to share the venue, which will be built with $750 million in taxpayer money. But it’s up to the Raiders and UNLV to negotiate the agreement, and the first draft proposed by the Raiders likely was slanted in favor of the side that wrote it. So they’ll go back and forth in order to work out a final deal, and UNLV can either do it by the seat of their pants or the school can rely on someone with the knowledge, experience, and skill to get the best possible deal.
Which the Raiders surely are already doing.