LATEST: Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval released a new statement Friday:
“I have received the final recommendations from the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee and will begin my due diligence by giving each of them a thoughtful and thorough review. At this point, I am focused on reviewing the full scope of the five recommendations. Once my questions have been answered to my satisfaction and I am comfortable with a proposal, I will consider the options available.”
UPDATE: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released the following statement:
ORIGINAL STORY:
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- After months of negotiations, Nevada officials have taken the first step in approving construction of a 65,000-seat domed stadium that could attract the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee voted Thursday to send Gov. Brian Sandoval a number of infrastructure-related proposals including a massive expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center and construction of a domed stadium partially funded through an increase in hotel taxes and strongly supported by Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson.
The committee, which is made up of casino executives, elected officials and economists, can only offer advisory recommendations to the governor and state Legislature. In a statement, Sandoval thanked the committee for its work but offered few clues as to when and if a special session of the Legislature could be called.
"I will begin my review of the Committee’s recommendations and will also begin discussions with legislative leadership, local stakeholders, and my cabinet to clarify any outstanding questions," he said in a statement. "I will not move forward until all questions have been resolved."
Stadium developers have been pushing for a special session to be called sometime near the end of September and the start of October, saying they need time to put together a proposal to gain NFL approval for the move.
The Raiders have already indicated they want to move to Nevada and are promising to help pay for the stadium.
The proposed stadium will cost somewhere around $1.9 billion, depending on several unknown infrastructure and other building costs. The cost under the current plan would be a split between casino mogul Adelson ($650 million), Oakland Raiders ($500 million) and the public ($750 million).
On Thursday, the committee voted on several outstanding issues including the makeup of the stadium authority board, a no-percentage cap on public contributions and rejected a request to exempt the stadium and team from potential new taxes.
The committee also approved recommendations to increase the sales tax in Clark County by 0.1 percent to help pay for more police officers in tourist-heavy areas.
Even if lawmakers approve a new stadium, the Raiders would still need the approval of three fourths of the NFL team owners to move to Las Vegas. The NFL vote would most likely happen when the owners meet in January.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft have both expressed interest in Las Vegas as a possible NFL venue.
