Commitment to exiting — Davis says he’ll explain all
It’s limbo time for Las Vegas, baby.
How far can Sin City’s politicians and bankers bend over backward to accommodate the Raiders?
The broad strokes of the deal between the Raiders and Las Vegas have been worked out, but many details remain unsettled, like the lease terms. The Raiders won’t own the new stadium, but they’re reportedly demanding a big cut from non-football events.
Also, the site the Raiders are demanding will be much more costly to develop and less conducive to revenue-producing development than the site preferred by the city mayor.
Sounds like relatively small stuff, but the 11th-hour demands Al Davis made when the Raiders returned to Oakland in ’95 are still costing Oakland about $20 million per year.
Now it’s Las Vegas’ turn to limbo lower.
Meanwhile, Mark Davis says he will explain to angry Raiders fans why he’s taking their team away.
“Hopefully we can work things out,” Davis said.
He might start by explaining the math. The difference in cost between a stadium in Vegas and one in Oakland is about $700 million. That’s because Vegas needs a dome.
Nevada is kicking in $750 million. If the Raiders built a domeless stadium in Oakland, they would need zero dollars from the host city (Oakland). That’s assuming the NFL helped the Raiders get a loan ($650 mil) like the one the league helped ’em get from Bank of America for the Vegas stadium. And why would the league not do that, since Roger Goodell said he really hates to see the Raiders move?
If BofA is willing to loan money to build a Vegas stadium, why not one in Oakland? Bigger market, economy on upswing, deep and rabid fan base, much smaller risk!
Plus, if the Raiders stayed in Oakland, they would avoid the NFL relocation fee of about $350 million, along with moving expenses and the cost of building practice facilities.
So, by my calculations, moving to Vegas is going to cost the Raiders and Davis roughly $400 million more than it would cost them to stay home and build a stadium in Oakland.
If I’m wrong, Davis can explain it during his Tears Over Oakland Apology Tour.