Oakland Raiders Get Funding to Build Stadium in Las Vegas

On Monday, Oakland Raiders team president Marc Badain told the National Football League (NFL) that the Raiders have secured the necessary funding to build a 65,000-seat stadium in Las Vegas.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this means the Raiders will be ready “for a relocation vote at the annual owners’ meeting March 26-29 in Phoenix.” The Las Vegas Stadium Authority will meet this Thursday to discuss details surrounding the proposed stadium.

Also on Monday, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf spoke to the NFL finance committee about keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

Schaaf said, according to the Chronicle, “Today, we presented a plan that we believe responsibly meets the needs of all parties. We made a sound economic case for keeping the Raiders in Oakland through the creation of what could become one of America’s premier mixed-use sporting venues.” She reportedly added, “Ours is a project that enhances the use of the already-entitled Oakland Coliseum site for the Raiders and for the public benefit and leverages the site’s proximity to BART and other public transit options, Oakland International Airport and major freeways.”

On January 13, the Chronicle reported the Raiders’ announcement that Goldman Sachs would be financing the team’s Vegas stadium. But weeks later, the San Jose Mercury News reported that Goldman Sachs had backed out of the agreement. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson had agreed to contribute $650 million to the new stadium but changed his mind. When he left the table, Goldman Sachs left with him.

Bank of America has now put the Raiders in a position to try to make the move to Vegas a reality.