City Of Las Vegas

Latest On Raiders, Las Vegas

March 23rd, 2017 at 10:51am CST by Zachary Links

It’s not a done deal just yet, but all (neon) signs are pointing towards the Raiders moving to Las Vegas. The NFL has set a range for the Raiders’ Las Vegas relocation fee that is far less than what the Rams and Chargers each paid to move to Los Angeles, sources tell Albert Breer of The MMQB. The Raiders would pay between $325MM and $375MM for the right to move to Sin City instead of the $650MM paid by the L.A. teams. That’s one hurdle down for owner Mark Davis, who has less cash at his disposal than most owners.

Now, the proposed move will likely be put to a vote at next week’s annual league meeting, which is probably a sign that the league feels it has the necessary 24 votes for approval. Specifically, the vote is expected to take place on Monday, NFL.com’s Judy Battista tweets. NFL owners aren’t crazy about the idea of leaving the Bay Area, particularly after the 49ers have left the Raiders an opportunity to add fans in the North and East Bay, but there are no viable proposals to keep the team in Oakland, Breer writes.

Even assuming that the vote passes early next week, there are still some issues that the NFL will want clarity on. Namely, the league will want to see the exact terms of the lease given that the city of Las Vegas will be contributing a record amount of public money. NFL owners want to ensure that the Raiders are getting the appropriate amount of revenue out of the building before OKing the proposal, which is why their approval could be conditional, according to Breer.

There’s also the matter of Sheldon Adelson and his business ties in the city of Las Vegas. Now that he is no longer a partner in the deal, there is some concern in NFL circles that he could use his connections to make life difficult for the Raiders. However, word is that Adelson privately told folks during the Super Bowl in Houston that he wouldn’t stand in the way of the team moving forward without him, Breer hears.

In the longer term, Breer gets the sense that another team could eventually wind up in Oakland, given the area’s potential. The Raiders are not leaving Oakland for lack of fan support or dollars in the region, but rather because of the city’s unwillingness to make a deal that it feels would be heavily tilted against taxpayers. However, things can always change and a new regime in the municipality could help pave the way for the NFL to someday return.

Mark Davis “Dead Set” On Las Vegas

March 19th, 2017 at 9:42am CST by Rory Parks

This will not come as much of a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention, but Raiders owner Mark Davis is reportedly “dead set” on moving his club to Las Vegas and has abandoned all pretense of hearing out plans to keep the Raiders in Oakland. Elliott Almond of The Mercury News writes that Davis has not met with Oakland officials in over a year, and he did not speak with Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio two weeks ago, when Davis listened to Cappio and other officials make a pitch in Florida to other NFL owners.

Indeed, Davis has not so much as commented on the stadium plan put forth by Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott, though as Almond reports, sources familiar with both plans say Oakland could still have a chance to win over enough owners to keep the team where it is. Some owners, apparently, still have concerns about “funding infrastructure” in Las Vegas.

We learned last week that the Raiders will likely not have a lease agreement for a proposed Las Vegas stadium in place before the league owners meet later this month. Nonetheless, the absence of a finalized lease agreement does not mean the league owners will be precluded from voting on the relocation proposal. Instead, they could conditionally approve the relocation as long as the lease adequately addresses issues that are important to the league.

While Davis’ apparent reluctance to even consider Oakland’s overtures will surely anger and frustrate Bay Area fans, Almond reports that Lott’s plan has a fair share of flaws and has been met with skepticism by key league executives. Plus, the city’s proposal is still six to eight months away from being fully complete, which means that Oakland’s fading hopes are contingent upon league owners either postponing the relocation vote or voting against the move altogether, the latter of which seems highly unlikely.

Extra Points: Raiders, Eagles, Broncos

March 16th, 2017 at 10:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

“Things could be on track” for a vote on the Raiders’ potential relocation to take place during the upcoming owners meetings from March 26-29, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy informed Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. Indeed, the Raiders are “on course” to apply for Las Vegas relocation at the meetings, a source told Gutierrez. If a vote is held, Mark Davis will need 23 of the league’s other 31 owners to sign off on his Vegas plan. Before that happens, though, owners want to know where the Raiders would play in 2019, according to Gutierrez. They’re going to remain in Oakland the next two seasons, and the potential Las Vegas stadium wouldn’t open until 2019, leaving a one-year gap.

West Notes: Cardinals, Joeckel, Raiders

March 12th, 2017 at 12:07pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a quick swing around the league’s west divisions:

We learned earlier today that Tony Jefferson‘s new deal with the Ravens will pay him up to $37MM over four years. We also heard reports in recent days that the Browns and possibly the Jets offered him slightly more money, but that he spurned those offers to sign with Baltimore. As Andy Benoit of TheMMQB writes in a detailed piece on Jefferson’s free agent journey, Jefferson’s former team, the Cardinals, made him an initial “low-ball” offer of three years, $12MM, before upping their proposal to four years and $24MM, still well short of the winning bid.
Mike Jurecki of FoxSports910 passes along some contract details on two of the Cardinals‘ recent signings (Twitter links). Jurecki reports that safety Antoine Bethea‘s new three-year deal will pay him yearly base salaries of $2MM, $3MM, and $3MM, while A.Q. Shipley‘s new two-year pact is worth a total of $3.5MM with base salaries of $775K and $1.5MM, $725K in guarantees, and $250K in roster bonuses for 2017 and 2018.
Luke Joeckel‘s new one-year deal with the Seahawks will pay him a fully-guaranteed $7MM, with an additional $1MM available in per-game roster bonuses (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Robbie Gould‘s new two-year pact with the 49ers is worth a total of $4MM, with $1MM fully guaranteed.
The Raiders will likely not have a lease agreement for a proposed Las Vegas stadium in place before the league owners meet later this month, a meeting during which they could approve the team’s relocation bid. However, as noted in a piece from the Associated Press, the absence of a finalized lease agreement does not mean the league owners will be precluded from voting on the relocation proposal. Instead, they could conditionally approve the relocation as long as the lease adequately addresses issues that are important to the league.
The Raiders have made a few changes to their coaching staff, as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Last season’s assistant secondary coach, Rod Woodson, will coach cornerbacks, as he did previously, and Brent Vieselmeyer, who was assistant linebackers coach last year, will coach the safeties in 2017. Meanwhile, Travis Smith has been promoted from quality control to outside linebackers coach, and Nick Holz is now the assistant receivers coach. Nate Tice, son of offensive line coach Mike Tice, is the offensive quality control coach.
We learned earlier today that the Broncos and OT Donald Stephenson have agreed to a restructured deal.

Raiders Secure Additional Las Vegas Funding

March 6th, 2017 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders’ Las Vegas project received what could be a critical boost on Monday. Bank of America agreed to help fund the proposed $1.9 billion stadium. According to the team, via Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter), this latest development stands to complete the financing on this venture.

The extra backing became essential to the Raiders moving forward with their long-planned Vegas relocation because of Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs’ withdrawals earlier this year.

Bank of America being now involved with the franchise’s push to move strengthens the Raiders’ potential proposal. One insider said the Raiders showed a “very strong” Las Vegas plan at today’s presentation to the NFL’s stadium and finance committees, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The Raiders were seeking an additional partner to aid this effort after Adelson’s exit deprived the team of the $650MM he promised to deliver. While the Raiders still secured the record $750MM in public money from Nevada, a sizable gap existed prior to Bank of America agreeing to fill the void.

Conversely, the Oakland made a 45-minute presentation at today’s summit in Florida. An NFL source informed Bonsignore (Twitter link) no new revelations emerged from the Oakland proposal. The Fortress Investment Group that’s backing the Ronnie Lott-led Oakland operation was not on hand at today’s meetings, Bosignore tweets. This continues the stagnant nature of the Oakland push to retain the Raiders, one that has yet to produce a viable plan in the eyes of the league.

The Vegas venture that as recently as five weeks ago was categorized as being “all but dead” appears to have new life. Today’s development gels with Raiders president Mark Badain saying last month two banks had agreed to loan them money for the move.

While the Raiders still need to convince 23 owners to approve this relocation when it’s put up for a vote, the lack of an Oakland solution may deliver more momentum to Vegas. (And one of the most influential owners seems to be on board.) However, there are still complications regarding this move, and after key Raiders backers pulled out recently, the project being on firm footing can’t be assumed just yet. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes Adelson could still try to keep the team out, as he reportedly plans to lure another team. But nothing of any substance has emerged on that front.

Jones Trying To Aid Raiders’ Vegas Move?

March 4th, 2017 at 5:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The long-building momentum driving a prospective Raiders push to Las Vegas stalled earlier this year when Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs bailed on the venture, leaving many questions for the Silver and Black. Jerry Jones may now be trying to answer some of them himself. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets the Cowboys owner is trying to gather investors to fill Adelson’s role in this project.

Adelson was set to contribute $650MM to a Vegas stadium, one slated to cost approximately $1.9 billion. After the team lost the backing of Adelson and Goldman Sachs, the prognosis for a Raiders relocation to Vegas plummeted to “all but dead” status. Conflicting reports have surfaced on Jones potentially getting involved here. A Cowboys source said the longtime owner is not trying to help finance a Raiders Vegas venue, but others told Cole (Twitter link) that he has attempted to do so.

Jones trying to fill in here has raised issues around the league, Cole tweets. A positive viewpoint stems from Jones’ influence among the other owners. He’s been intrigued about a team opening up the Vegas market and has considerable power within the group of owners. However, Jones reaching out like this would help lead some to conclude, per Cole (via Twitter), the Raiders are unable to gather sufficient financing after receiving previous commitments themselves. Mark Davis helped secure a record $750MM commitment in public funds last year, but the momentum here has stalled after the financial giants left. Another concern to come out of a Jones-Raiders relationship, per Cole (on Twitter): the possibility it could provide the Cowboys owner with undue control over another team and how it’s run.

While doubts have understandably surfaced about the viability of the Raiders moving to Nevada, team president Mark Badain said recently the club has two banks willing to loan money to make up for Adelson’s withdrawal. He remains in high spirit about a move but wouldn’t exactly be expected to indicate otherwise publicly so soon after Adelson abandoned the project. Nothing much has come out of the Oakland front, with the latest development in the Ronnie Lott-led proposal not moving the needle much.

AFC Notes: Broncos, Browns, Raiders, Fins

March 1st, 2017 at 7:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Broncos general manager John Elway issued an update Wednesday regarding the status of impending free agent linebacker DeMarcus Ware, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “I haven’t talked to DeMarcus,” Elway said “He’s been around, but I haven’t had a chance to sit down with DeMarcus, so as we get through this and get back to Denver, I’m sure I’ll sit down with DeMarcus and we’ll talk about it.”

On the other hand, rookie head coach Vance Joseph has talked to the future Hall of Fame pass rusher “four or five” times over the past couple months. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Ware has made it no secret that he’d like to return to Denver for a fourth season, but his previous employer, the Cowboys, could pursue him if he reaches free agency. Between Dallas and Denver, Ware has amassed 138.5 sacks in 12 years. Four of those sacks came last season for Ware, who appeared in a career-low 10 games on account of back and forearm injuries.

Elway, meanwhile, could become a free agent executive after next season. It doesn’t look as if that will happen, however, as contract extension talks between Elway and the Broncos “going fine,” the Hall of Fame quarterback said (via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post). “I don’t anticipate any problems,” he added. The 56-year-old Elway has been resoundingly successful as an executive, having helped the Broncos to a 67-29 record, five playoff berths, two AFC championships and a Super Bowl in six seasons in their front office.

West Notes: Broncos, 49ers, Raiders, Vegas

February 17th, 2017 at 8:11pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Broncos could express interest in left tackle Branden Albert and defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, each of whom played for the Dolphins in 2016, per Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter links). Mitchell was released on Thursday and could be a fit with Denver thanks to his relationship with Broncos head coach Vance Joseph and defensive line coach Bill Kollar. Albert was also thought to have been released, but Miami is now close to trading the 32-year-old to Jacksonville. It’s unclear if Denver would still be interested in Albert if forced to sacrifice draft compensation.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two West divisions:

In addition to confirming several previously-reported hires, the 49ers announced another wave of coaching staff additions tonight. The list of new coaches includes Jeff Hafley (defensive backs), Johnny Holland (linebackers), Jason Tarver (senior defensive assistant) and Bobby Slowik (defensive quality control). Tarver, a former coordinator at the NFL level, is a holdover but is shifting away from LBs coach in order for San Francisco to add Holland, a former Cleveland coach.
The Broncos have granted the 49ers permission to interview John Benton for their vacant offensive line position, as Klis reports in a separate piece. Denver hired Benton as its assistant offensive line coach last month, but obviously he hasn’t actually worked with any Broncos players as of yet. Benton has worked with new San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan in the past, as the pair was employed by Houston from 2006-09.
Although previous reports have indicated the Raiders‘ plan to relocate to Las Vegas is “dead,” Oakland executive Mark Badain recently told the NFL the club has financial backing from two banks willing to loan the Raiders money for their move, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. The Raiders last month lost the support of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who was planning to put $650MM towards a Vegas stadium, but reportedly still had “high hopes” of moving to Nevada.

Latest On Sheldon Adelson’s Withdrawal From Raiders’ Vegas Plan

February 12th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Rory Parks

We learned yesterday that the Raiders were still optimistic about a potential move to Las Vegas, a move that recently encountered several major hurdles when casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew his $650MM pledge for a potential $1.9B, 65,000-seat stadium in Sin City, and investment firm Goldman Sachs declared that it would not help the Raiders finance a stadium without Adelson’s involvement.

But while the Raiders still believe they can make a relocation work, it appears that the bridge with Adelson has been burned for good. Last night, Richard N. Velotta of the Las Vegas Review-Journal passed along a series of comments from Andy Abboud, vice president of government relations and community affairs for casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a spokesman for the Adelson family. Abboud’s statements are the first from either party regarding stadium development negotiations.

The entire piece is worth a read, but Abboud said Raiders executives changed their minds about certain issues in mid-negotiation, which precipitated Adelson’s decision. Per Abboud, the last straw was the Raiders’ decision to take a proposed stadium lease agreement to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority without telling or involving the Adelsons. Adelson withdrew his support four days after the agreement was presented to the Stadium Authority.

Abboud said of the lease, “The concern that we had and the concern that everybody has in hindsight is the 117-page proposed lease agreement that did not reflect the commitments that the Adelson family made to the Raiders and that the Raiders had made to the Adelson family. It did not reflect the commitments that were made to UNLV. It did not make the commitments that were promised to the community, and it was in no way reflective of the months of [Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee] meetings and reflective of what it took to get the members of the Legislature to vote for the funding.”

Abboud added that the two sides negotiated over such issues as stadium naming rights, sponsorships, revenue from stadium contractors, parking, signage, and use by UNLV, but whenever Adelson’s team believed they had struck an accord, the Raiders would change their minds again.

Abboud said the team was demanding more and more as the negotiations wore on, and that Adelson “was willing to share revenues and make it financially mutually beneficial, but [the Raiders] were picking his pocket. I think that they felt they were asking to be entitled to revenue streams and things that simply made the deal unworkable. It was never about the financial return for the Adelsons, but the Adelson family wasn’t going to have their pocket picked, by the Raiders or by the NFL or anybody.”

Needless to say, this report presents just one side of the story, as Raiders President Marc Badain told Velotta several days ago that the team would not comment on the negotiations. Further, the Las Vegas Review-Journal is owned by Adelson’s family, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, it does provide an interesting glimpse into the negotiations that once seemed destined to bring the NFL to Las Vegas but that now appear to be completely dead.

Raiders Still Have “High Hopes” For Las Vegas Project

February 11th, 2017 at 11:16am CST by Ben Levine

Despite a number of setbacks, the Raiders are not discouraged regarding a potential move to Las Vegas. In early January, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew his $650MM pledge for a potential $1.9B, 65,000-seat stadium in Sin City. Following those reports, there wasn’t much optimism that the organization could get the necessary financial backing in time for the NFL owners’ meeting in six weeks. However, a recent report by Regina Garcia Cano of SFGate.com noted that the Raiders still have “high hopes for the project.”

Members of the organization met with the stadium authority board this past week for the first time since Adelson bailed from the plan. The two sides are still optimistic that they can still find a suitable lease agreement, and the team is reportedly in discussions with “multiple financial institutions” to make up for the monetary discrepancy.

“We’re in an industry where we’re used to plugging along, and we’re used to having starts and stops,” Raiders president Marc Badain said on Thursday (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez). “[Raiders owner] Mark Davis made a commitment to [Nevada] Governor [Brian] Sandoval, and we intend to see that through.”

The Raiders seemingly thought they’d have the money for a new stadium, with Adelson committing $650MM, the organization promising $500MM, and the stadium authority paying $750MM in tax revenues. However, Adelson’s withdrawal clearly threw a wrench in this plan. The Raiders were apparently hoping for financial assistance from Goldman Sachs, but a recent report implied that they have bailed on the project, as well.

The Raiders are running out of time, as owners would presumably vote on the move during their meeting in late March. Besides accounting for the necessary finances, the organization also has to determine a worthy location for the proposed stadium. Cano writes that a “parcel of land” near the Las Vegas Strip is currently the ideal landing spot. The Raiders would reportedly be sharing their new stadium with UNLV.

“The organization remains fully committed to this project,” Badain said. “We are not deterred. Financing will not be an issue.”

For what it’s worth, commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that investors affiliated with casinos may not be the best choice for the Raiders.

“I don’t see an ownership position in a team from a casino,” Goodell said. “That is not something that is consistent with our policies … not likely a stadium, either.”

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