GOP tax plan would affect Raiders stadium

The Republican tax overhaul introduced in Congress would affect funding for the proposed $1.9 billion stadium that will house the Las Vegas Raiders.

A provision of the 429-page bill ends tax-exempt status on bonds used to pay for stadiums used by professional sports teams, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Saturday.

The Raiders’ bid to build a 65,000-seat domed football stadium clearly falls within circumstances that would be banned in legislation President Donald Trump has vowed to approve by Thanksgiving. The stadium’s financing plan includes $750 million in publicly issued tax-exempt bonds.

A staff adviser to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority and the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis, told the newspaper he has been inundated with calls about the change.

“The stadium, as designed, appears to meet the definition of a project that could not use tax-exempt bonds,” Aguero said Friday. “That could potentially affect the financial models we have been using in estimating the potential cost of the project.”

The proposal would likely increase the bond interest rate and either make the project more expensive or decrease the yield, Aguero said.

A legal expert in tax-exempt projects and real estate-based financing said many people were caught by surprise by the content of the legislation.

Richard Jost, an attorney with the Fennemore Craig law firm who also teaches classes at the UNLV, called it “somewhat of a shock to everybody” that the proposal was not only in the bill but that it would be effective immediately.

Jost predicted that supporters of the stadium would be burning up the phone lines between Nevada and the state’s congressional delegation to amend the legislation to exempt the Las Vegas stadium project from the plan. A simple fix would be to exempt projects that are under way, he said. Browns reward Thomas: Injured Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas has received a $3 million raise from the Cleveland Browns.

Thomas recently had surgery for a season-ending triceps injury. A team spokesman said the Browns had agreed to the deal before Thomas, a 10time Pro Bowler, was injured.

Thomas will get a $1.5 million roster bonus this season and a $1.5 million increase to his 2018 salary, pushing it to $10.3 million. ESPN first reported the raise for Thomas, who had never missed a play in his career — a streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps — before he was hurt on Oct. 22. Briefly: Kansas City activated linebacker Tamba Hali from the physically unable to perform list, though it’s uncertain whether the five-time Pro Bowl selection will play Sunday at Dallas. Hali missed the offseason program and training camp to rest and rehabilitate his ailing knees. He practiced for the first time Thursday. Kansas City waived cornerback D.J. White to make room for Hali on the 53-man roster . ... The New York Giants placed starting center Weston Richburg on injured reserve with a concussion. Defensive back Tim Scott was promoted from the team’s practice squad . ... Indianapolis cornerback Vontae Davis did not travel with the team to Houston for Sunday’s game because of a noninjury-related issue. No additional details were given.