The Oakland Raiders took another step toward eventually becoming the Las Vegas Raiders, Tuesday. From a report from News 3 Las Vegas, the Nevada Senate voted 16-5 to approve a stadium funding deal for the Raiders.
The next step is for the proposal to go to the Nevada General Assembly, which is set to be on Thursday. Notably, it was last month when Nevada oversight committee unanimously approved a $750 million public funding plan for the said stadium.
Prior to that, when the Raiders released renderings of the stadium, they and the Sands Casino Group made it clear that if the legislature approved the $750 million public funding package, they would make sure the Raiders wound up in Las Vegas.
There are plenty of proponents of the stadium deal, but there are also a number of opponents, several of whom made their case at the Nevada Senate prior to Tuesday's vote.
"This will be ladies and gentlemen, the largest tax increase in the history of the state of Nevada," Clark County Commissioner Chris Guinchigliani said.
"The scam of this stadium might benefit a couple billionaires, but it 's a high-risk investment for our state," Bob Fulkerson claimed who is a protester with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.
The Senate is on an extreme limbo taking equal testimony from supporters and detractors before ultimately voting in favor of the proposal.
Meanwhile, Ryan Wilson wrote:
The stadium venue's estimated cost is $1.9 billion, and state lawmakers would have to approve the $1.4 billion stadium's public funding package.
Proponents of the plan, which include the Las Vegas Sands, want to increase the hotel tax to raise the $750 million that was approved Thursday, while the Raiders and the Sands would cover $1.25 billion. Of that total, the Raiders would chip in $500 million.
Ongoing expenses would be paid for by "about $35 million per year in taxes generated" on stadium grounds, Sisolak told CBS News, adding: "This is a great day for Las Vegas for UNLV and for the Raiders."
Meanwhile, the legislature has not yet set a date for the vote on the stadium. Proponents also want state lawmakers to meet and greenlight the deal as soon as possible. The next step would be to pitch the deal to NFL owners, 75 percent of whom must approve any team relocation. The owners are expected to next meet in January.
Join the Conversation