[toc]Many residents of Las Vegas already view the NFL Raiders as “their” team, despite the fact that the move is still several years away. However, they may be disappointed to learn that the relocation to Sin City could potentially take longer than initially anticipated.
Raiders might stay in Oakland through 2020
Reports from the Bay Area indicate that Raiders management is discussing the possibility of extending their lease at Oakland Coliseum until 2020, if feasible.
At present, the team is assured to participate this season and in 2018. However, for 2019, the team technically doesn’t have a venue to play. The new Vegas stadium will still be under construction, and the existing lease in Oakland will have expired.
Thus, during the discussion about preparing the team for 2019, the suggestion of extending the plan to 2020 also arose.
“Without a doubt, we’re discussing a one-year extension, and there’s a strong possibility of extending it to two years,” Scott McKibbon, the Raiders General Manager, informed the SF Chronicle.
Under the present agreement, the team pays a rent of $3.5 million and shares the earnings from concessions, parking, and other sources with the city that owns the stadium.
The aim is to secure a comparable agreement for at least 2019. However, considering the parties involved, this may be too hopeful. Many Oakland residents were displeased with the Raiders’ decision to leave the city. Oakland Council President Larry Reid, who expressed his feelings about the situation unequivocally to the Chronicle, is one such individual.
The city of Oakland and Raiders fans were completely disrespected by the NFL and the Raiders. Once the Raiders leave, that’s it. I want no further association with them.
How would this effect the bottom line in Vegas?
The sole reason that the Raiders management is discussing 2020 with Oakland is due to apprehension that the new stadium will not be completed by then. Given that construction of the $1.9 billion facility hasn’t started yet, this worry seems justified.
During the latest Stadium Authority meeting, there was a heated debate about the community plan. Issues such as the number of small businesses contracted by the Raiders for construction and diversity hiring practices sparked intense discussion.
The group is planning to set up an authority agreement next month that would permit some construction on the site. As the Raiders still possess the stadium land, they would be responsible for insurance on any developments.
These plans are not precisely delayed. The current plan is to commence groundbreaking on the site just after Thanksgiving. The contingency plan is more of a safeguard than anything else.
Nevertheless, before the stadium plan could be approved, the team had to demonstrate that it would generate a specific amount of revenue. To help finance the $750 million it is contributing towards the project, the city increased the resort fees at Las Vegas casinos.
The $750 million investment in an NFL stadium project is the largest ever made by a city. As expected, this deal faced significant criticism. The possibility of losing a year’s worth of tourism revenue from the team could pose a substantial issue.
Currently, the positive aspect is that the team appears to be just taking precautionary measures. We can only hope that the Raiders and the city manage to stick to the timeline.
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