By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
Raiders President Marc Badain said the team is finalizing land deals that would offer 27,000 parking spaces within a mile and a half of the Raiders stadium site.
The parking spaces are critical because there’s only 3,000 parking spaces on the stadium’s 62-acre site at Russell Road and Polaris Avenue. The Raiders need another 13,000 parking spaces to comply with Clark County standards.
Badain also told the local stadium authority board that the Raiders have also identified sites offering room for 100,000 spaces within a three-mile radius of the stadium site, and those sites would likely require shuttle service to ferry fans to the stadium.
Parking has been a hot topic because the stadium site contained only 3,000 spaces. Indeed, Badain acknowledged to the stadium panel that it was a “topic of interest” and that the team takes the parking issue “seriously.” The Raiders have been looking at the Bali Hai Golf Club near the Russell Road-Las Vegas Boulevard intersection as a location for parking. It’s at 5160 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Badain about the impact of a federal lawsuit against Clark County, which manages the BLM land used by Bali Hai Golf Club owner BIlly Walters. Badain said team negotiators are talking with the feds as part of the Raiders working on the parking crunch issue. The feds sued Clark County, alleging the county was not collecting enough money for the land and was undervaluing the BLM property.
Stadium board member Tommy White, a leader of Laborers union 872 and a big supporter of the Riders stadium, said the NFL team is “putting a lot of work into finding parking.” And White was confident the Raiders will find the space for fan tailgating.
The Raiders and stadium board negotiators are hammering out final details for the NFL team’s 30-year venue deal. The Raiders plan to move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020 when the 65,000-seat, domed stadium is scheduled to open. Thursday morning’s meeting allowed stadium board lawyers to bring members up to date on legal issues regarding the stadium financing and parking issues.
The Raiders will keep all parking revenue, whether it’s on the stadium site or at remote locations. That’s par for the course as the Raiders will run the stadium and keep all revenue streams, ranging from concession sales to parking.
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On the parking front, not only are the Raiders responsible for complying with the county parking standards but they also must provide enough parking to meet the requirements of a “premier” first-class stadium, said Mark Arnold, the stadium board lawyer.
“We’re not at the mercy of the county development agreement,” Arnold told the stadium authority board regarding the county’s parking requirements for the stadium.
The stadium board approved a laundry list of lease agreements “in Form” with the Raiders, which is kind of like moving along the first reading of a piece of legislation. There was not a lot of discussion among board members.
The public is contributing $750 million to the $1.9 billion stadium project, a cost estimate because the “Guaranteed Maximum Price” (GMP) has not been given to the stadium board. The Raiders cover all cost overruns and construction expenses north of the stadium project cost.
To pay for the stadium project, are the Raiders receiving $750 million from the state/stadium authority, $200 million from the NFL, $250 million in personal seat license revenues and $600 million in a Bank of America loan. The Raiders are paying $100 million for the training center in Henderson for a grand total of $1.9 billion.
Keep in mind, while the public has been told they are giving $750 million to the Raiders for their stadium (the biggest public stadium subsidy in U.S. history), the stadium authority board will actually have to generate about $1.1 billion over 30 years to cover the debt service when Clark County sells the bonds for the stadium authority in the spring. Approved by state lawmakers in 2016, a hotel room tax of 88 cents on every room in southern Nevada is being charged to pay the public stadium subsidy.
Some outstanding issues the stadium board needs items such as a letter from the NFL that the Raiders can move to Las Vegas and documents from Raiders’ lender Bank of America, Arnold told the stadium board members.
“We’re checking things off the check list,” Arnold said. “We’re well on our way.”
LVSportsBiz.com didn’t expect anything different.
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