I had the opportunity to attend the first 2 thirds of the meeting that including the convention proposal and the stadium proposal. To say the least, it was very interesting. There were a few things that I took away from it.
We learned that the Raiders would be kicking in 500 million. However, from my understanding, the Sands and Majestic reduced their allotment to 150 million. The rest of the project (750 million) would all be picked up the public. Even though the public would pick up more than the half of the total cost of the project, the public would get 0 of the direct revenue of the stadium. Although the public does not have any operational risk (meaning they don't have to put additional money to run the stadium after its completion), this is something that I am unable to stomach. Obviously the public will pick up some of the economic benefit the stadium would provide in economic impact and increased tax revenues, but given the capital investment, the public should get some piece of the revenue. Maybe not the 54 percent of the stadium revenue. The public does not need to subsidize a stadium. I don't think you will find someone like myself that sees the potential benefits this would bring to the city of Las Vegas and UNLV. (Increased tax revenue, more visitors, UNLV stadium, power 5 conference potential). The Raiders would be a massive game changer for this city and it would be unreal. Still, that is a major sticking point that needs to be ironed out. Especially considering that the city NEEDS more convention space and the LVCVA alternative does exist. That would benefit Las Vegas greatly as well. So this is something that has to be worked on. This is another piece of the equation that is a significant snag.
This group has a lot of work to do. Besides bring Mark Davis, Beckham, and Co to speak, there were not a lot of huge developments in the plan. This could have been just my perception or reality. All the rest of the content were things that were already known to me at least with its potential (David Beckham doesn't make that any more real imo). Obviously there is still a long way to go. I thought it was great to see Mark Davis voice publicly his support for the city. That will help immensely. The NFL seems to be the least significant obstacle left in the process. That is a positive.
They are also evaluating the potential for the different sites for the stadium. UNLV would really need their plot of land to come into play. Jessup definitely was a little worried. That seems to be an ongoing development that does not seem to have a close resolution. I don't have a lot of information or insight on how likely it would be for them to pick this site over the others if they were to secure funding.
Overall it was a positive development. It definitely helped to generate excitement and drive some momentum. I don't think all of the committee was necessarily buying it. We will see. The battle lines are being drawn. It will be fun to see this play out.
TLDR. Not a lot of new information. Public should get some of the revenue given their investment. Still a lot has to happen. Some potential snags. Positive energy, some excitement building.
We learned that the Raiders would be kicking in 500 million. However, from my understanding, the Sands and Majestic reduced their allotment to 150 million. The rest of the project (750 million) would all be picked up the public. Even though the public would pick up more than the half of the total cost of the project, the public would get 0 of the direct revenue of the stadium. Although the public does not have any operational risk (meaning they don't have to put additional money to run the stadium after its completion), this is something that I am unable to stomach. Obviously the public will pick up some of the economic benefit the stadium would provide in economic impact and increased tax revenues, but given the capital investment, the public should get some piece of the revenue. Maybe not the 54 percent of the stadium revenue. The public does not need to subsidize a stadium. I don't think you will find someone like myself that sees the potential benefits this would bring to the city of Las Vegas and UNLV. (Increased tax revenue, more visitors, UNLV stadium, power 5 conference potential). The Raiders would be a massive game changer for this city and it would be unreal. Still, that is a major sticking point that needs to be ironed out. Especially considering that the city NEEDS more convention space and the LVCVA alternative does exist. That would benefit Las Vegas greatly as well. So this is something that has to be worked on. This is another piece of the equation that is a significant snag.
This group has a lot of work to do. Besides bring Mark Davis, Beckham, and Co to speak, there were not a lot of huge developments in the plan. This could have been just my perception or reality. All the rest of the content were things that were already known to me at least with its potential (David Beckham doesn't make that any more real imo). Obviously there is still a long way to go. I thought it was great to see Mark Davis voice publicly his support for the city. That will help immensely. The NFL seems to be the least significant obstacle left in the process. That is a positive.
They are also evaluating the potential for the different sites for the stadium. UNLV would really need their plot of land to come into play. Jessup definitely was a little worried. That seems to be an ongoing development that does not seem to have a close resolution. I don't have a lot of information or insight on how likely it would be for them to pick this site over the others if they were to secure funding.
Overall it was a positive development. It definitely helped to generate excitement and drive some momentum. I don't think all of the committee was necessarily buying it. We will see. The battle lines are being drawn. It will be fun to see this play out.
TLDR. Not a lot of new information. Public should get some of the revenue given their investment. Still a lot has to happen. Some potential snags. Positive energy, some excitement building.
