Raiders President Marc Badain said Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak gave a "kick in the ass" to the stadium process in Las Vegas.

Raiders Prez Badain Says County Commish Sisolak Gave LV Stadium Process a ‘Kick in the Ass’

By ALAN SNEL

 

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak gave the Raiders stadium process a “kick in the ass,” according to Raiders President Marc Badain, and voila, a lovefest between the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board broke out at a stadium board meeting Thursday afternoon.

 

There was “extensive progress” between the Raiders and UNLV on a use agreement for the Rebels football team to play at the 65,000-seat domed venue and stadium board members were pleased with the Raiders’ community benefit plan that outlines targeted groups to hire for stadium construction jobs and job training programs.

 

Badain credited Sisolak for giving the process a “kick in the ass” to get the Raiders and UNLV reps in a room to create a use deal. They met last week, Badain said.

 

Steve Sisolak is a big backer of the Raiders and the publicly-subsidized stadium. Photo credit: Daniel Clark/LVSportsBiz.com

 

“He saw some stagnation,” Badain said after Thursday afternoon’s 75-minute meeting at UNLV’s Foundation Building. “He’s not shy.”

 

Badain, in his own words:

 

Sisolak, who is running for the Democratic nod for governor and has been very public in his support for the Raiders and the publicly-subsidized stadium, even snapped a photo of Badain and UNLV President Len Jessup at the meeting.

 

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak snapped this photo of UNLV President Len Jessup and Raiders President Marc Badain today. He posted the photo on Twitter.

 

The UNLV use deal has to go before the Nevada Board of Regents and if it’s approved, the proposed agreement goes before the stadium board in early 2018. The stadium at Russell Road and Polaris Avenue on the west side of I-15 is scheduled to open in 2020. UNLV will close Sam Boyd Stadium seven miles from campus after the Rebels start playing at the new stadium two miles from campus in 2020.

 

Sisolak told LVSportsBiz.com that he got the Raiders and UNLV in the same room and now their stadium use deal is “moving ahead.”

 

Raiders stadium is set to open in mid-2020.

 

The contentious community benefits plan issue won the approval of stadium board member Ken Evans, the board member and Urban Chamber of Commerce president who has been outspoken about making sure the Raiders hire workers and companies that represent diversity and inclusion.

 

“It’s one thing to have a target. It’s another thing to have the steps and the clauses (in the community benefits plan) to drive the outreach,” Evans told LVSportsBiz.com after the meeting.

 

Raiders Prez Marc Badain sits on corner chair during Thursday’s stadium meeting at UNLV.

 

The stadium board wants a community benefits plan oversight committee to make sure the Raiders comply with its community benefits plan. The stadium board does not have to approve the benefits plan, but the board can hold up approving the development agreement with the Raiders if board members are unhappy with the community plan.

 

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.