Oakland Raiders: Las Vegas Officials Question Proposal
The Oakland Raiders have been full-steam ahead for Las Vegas for some time now, but there are some who still question the proposal.
Despite the Oakland Raiders securing Bank of America to finance $650 million for the Las Vegas project, there are some who still question the stadium proposal.
At a NFL board meeting, no further details of the loan were revealed, and some team executives have questions about the proposal.
Per the San Jose Mercury News:
"“Three days after team executives told NFL owners they had secured a $650 million loan from Bank of America to help pay for the project, no details about the agreement were revealed during the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board meeting downtown.”"
The Clark County Commission Chair also has some questions about the proposal.
"“A regularly structured deal on $650 million amortized over 30 years, the principal is $20 million a year,” he said. “With just a 4 percent interest rate it would cost an additional $26 million annually.”“Where are they going to get $46 million a year?” Sisolak asked. “I don’t understand this.”"
The entire Mercury News article has several other notable quotes in which Sisolak points out various concerns with the proposal. Which if others share his same opinion, could spell trouble for Mark Davis’ efforts to move his team to Sin City.
Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole has also raised some concerns about the proposed Vegas deal.
Have talked to 2 other NFL owners about #Raiders/Vegas. They have questions, don't like the deal. BUT they don't see alternative in Oakland.
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) March 7, 2017
Both parts of the above tweet are important. A pair of NFL Owners don’t like the deal, but at the same time, they don’t see any alternative in Oakland. So if more Owners share that opinion, it’s plausible no vote will take place at the end of March.
Cole also made note of the potential relocation fee.
Also means relocation fee for Las Vegas could be much higher than expected. 1 owner said this week relo fee could be close to LA $650M cost
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) March 9, 2017
If the relocation fee does end up $650 million, it’s hard to see Mark Davis finding a way to pay for that. The best course of action might be if he is permitted to pay the fee $65 million per year over 10 years.
In any event, the expectation by many in the know is that the Raiders will move to Vegas. If not for any other reason than the $750 million in public funding that’s in the table.
Next: Free Agent Values Still Available
Maybe we’ll find out soon, sometime between March 26 and 29, and this story can come to a conclusion.