Governor Brian Sandoval has called a special legislative session which begins today to discuss the possible public financing of a football stadium that would help bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
The stadium plans call for the public to fund $750 million over 33 years and would be generated from an increase in taxes on tourists.
The Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee (SNTIC) approved the plan to be sent up to the legislature where they will now decide whether or not to give it the green light. Throughout the process there has been plenty of noise coming from both sides of the issue, but one voice that had been noticeably absent was that of The Creator, the man who stepped up to help bring the NHL to Las Vegas without using a single dime of public money.
I’m not going to be politically correct here, but I believe if you are going to spend $750 million of the public’s money, it should be on policemen, firefighters and teachers. -The Creator
It’s the first time he has publicly stated a position on the Las Vegas Stadium, and he really didn’t hold back. Though simple and to the point, which is what we’ve come to know from this man over the past two years, it was exactly what he needed to say, and maybe more importantly, exactly what Las Vegas needed to hear.
He’s plopped down $500 million to buy a team, invested in 15% of the completely privately funded T-Mobile Arena, begun the process of building a state-of-the-art practice facility in Downtown Summerlin which will be used for the most part by Las Vegas locals, and he’s not even close to done chucking money at this project. There were no SNTIC meetings about the NHL. There was not a special legislative session, which is also costing taxpayers money by the way, and never, at any point did he or anyone involved with the push to bring the NHL to Las Vegas ask the public for a handout.
The Creator did it the right way, and it’s a direct slap in his face if even a cent of public money goes to an entity which will be in direct competition with his.
We have our fan base, and they have theirs. The Raiders will be irrelevant to us. -The Creator
There’s living proof that it’s possible to bring pro sports to Las Vegas without public assistance, and unless another group steps up with their own money like The Creator and his team did, the Raiders deserve to be nothing more than… irrelevant.
Michael
Hear hear! This whole Raiders public robbery is an outrage. The usual propaganda about how great it will be for the city, but it is another case of crooked politicians and billionaire welfare. Unfortunately, it looks as though the die is cast….
Zak
Of course he doesn’t want another pro sports team in town to compete with. No shock there .
Michael
@Zak,
I see your point, but when the NHL have done things the right way, with no public money, and are showing a clear interest in being integrated into the community, it must be jarring to have the NFL swoop in with their outstretched hands, not caring two figs for Las Vegas itself, except for the $750 mill they can pump the cowardly politicians for.
Vegas is in the perfect place to embrace an NHL team, and circle the wagons around it. The NFL could well have an adverse affect on the Knights, which makes their daylight robbery all the more galling.
Stephanie Grobaski
Well said… This has been my argument all along… They cant call a special session to figure out how to fund education but to build a stadium?!?!?!
pfh64
I will always be an Islanders fan, been so forever. With that statement, it makes want to root just as hard for LV. Let the two meet in the finals and let the chips/bagels fall where they may.
JAY T
Right from the get go they said the stadium was going to be on campus and benefit UNLV. Now it’s on the strip and UNLV has to pay rent. F#^% Adelson and his stadium!
And that’s coming from a football fan, but NO way should this crappy deal go ahead. Tell them to kick rocks, and put a package together to build the Rebels an open air stadium next to the Thomas and Mack for a fraction of the price (300 mil or less).
Kenny
I hope Bill Foley’s handling of getting a team name does not reflect how he does business otherwise this franchise is in big trouble, millions in lost merchandise revenue all ready , as far as a the new stadium is concerned I am all for it because its just not about the NFL , its also about UNLV , other events and what it means to our community for Jobs
1969 GTO
COMMENT PART ONE
I’m surprised that a retired military man like Bill Foley doesn’t understand the concept of: Rank Has Its Privilege.
As a native Las Vegan and a hockey fan, I’m just as excited as anyone about the Aces (damn you, Gary Bettman!), er, I mean, fill-in-the-blank Knights hitting the ice here next year. However, I also know how to count to four (and so does Foley); and among the four major pro sports leagues in America, the NHL ranks fourth in TV ratings and overall popularity.
The NFL, by contrast? Number one, with a bullet.
That’s why none of Las Vegas’s city fathers came chasing after Foley with bags of “free” money (a.k.a. taxpayers’ dollars) to toss at Foley’s feet. Say what you will about the NFL and the Raiders, but you can’t say that they’re irrelevant. Well, you can’t say that and be serious. (BTW, I’m not a fan of the Raiders. I’m still ticked about the ass-whooping that they put on my Redskins back in Super Bowl XVIII.)
Like the New York Yankees and Notre Dame football, the Raiders are an international sports brand. The idea that Las Vegas would have a shot at landing the Silver & Black — rather than some sh*t-tier NFL team, like, say, the Jaguars — is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city, the county of Clark and the state of Nevada.
…
1969 GTO
COMMENT PART TWO
One doesn’t blithely pass up that kind of opportunity because of stupid concerns about “mo’ money fo’ dem programs.” And it is stupid because the hotel-room tax was always intended to raise money to advance the local tourism industry and other “boutique” concerns. Money for cops, teachers and the fire brigade? Yeah, that’s called Property Tax and Sales Tax, people, and it already exists here in Nevada.
In addition, waxing romantic about “muh private funding” of T-Mobile Arena doesn’t really move me, largely because paying for a pro hockey arena is a heck of a lot easier — especially when you have sugardaddies like MGM and AEG footing the bills for said arena — than paying for a much-larger pro football stadium (a stadium that, BTW, could potentially help state-school UNLV ultimately make the jump to a Power-5 conference).
Lastly and candidly, “Da Creator” is probably just butthurt that Mark Davis is getting all this love from SNTIC, the Mayor and the Governor, likely thinking to himself, “Hey, I was here first!” Don’t delude yourself into thinking that Foley is all sweetness-and-light and would never even consider pocketing any “free” money thrown his way by politicians. In the final analysis, he’s just another big-time sports-team owner. And how many of those guys remind you of Mother Teresa?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.