Would You Get Married At A Raiders-Theme Wedding Chapel? This Is Las Vegas, After All
By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
You have to tip your helmet to the Raiders and their enduring brand power when you consider the intense loyalty of their fans, even with the team piling up losses during the past decade.
It’s the power of the Silver & Black brand that has Raiders execs thinking that if they can gain control of the 155-acre Bali Hai Golf Club near their stadium site in Las Vegas, they would consider using the land for more than just stadium parking.
LVSportsBiz.com has learned that ideas discussed behind closed doors include creating a Raiders-theme wedding chapel. And can you dig this? How about a Raiders-theme cemetery? It’s all about finding new revenue-generating sources — and there’s no shortage of ideas in professional sports (and people who want to get married in Las Vegas.)
Raiders President Marc Badain, through an email, declined to comment Friday.
Before you book your Raiders wedding chapel date, the team has a little legal issue to work around.
The Raiders are trying to deal with the stadium parking crunch at their 62-acre stadium site by looking to spend $90 million-$100 million to gain control of the golf course at Russell Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, which is on the other side of Interstate 15 from the $1.8 billion stadium project site at Russell Road and Polaris Avenue.
The problem is the 155-acre golf course on former U.S. Bureau of Land Management land is tied up in a legal dispute after the feds sued Clark County in 2017, claiming in a lawsuit the county was not collecting enough rent from golf course owner Bill Walters who is imprisoned for insider trading. The Department of Justice would like $75.5 million in underpaid rent, according to the lawsuit. Years ago, the BLM had conveyed the land to Clark County with the understanding the county would lease the site for fair market value.
Over at the Raiders stadium site, there’s room for 2,400 parking spaces — way short of the 16,250 spaces required under county code (one space for every four people attending the 65,000-seat venue.) So, the Raiders last August unveiled a parking plan consisting of four satellite parking lots that would be served by shuttles to the domed stadium scheduled to open July 31, 2020.
The Raiders also figure about 20,000 of the stadium fans will walk along east-west Hacienda Avenue spanning the interstate from the Strip to reach the venue, which is beginning to take shape as the metal roof trusses are hoisted into place.
But if the Raiders ever get their hands on that golf course land for parking, you might see more than parking attendants. How about getting hitched at a Raiders-theme wedding chapel and then catching a Raiders game at the palatial new stadium for a “reception?”
Weddings and sports — it was done at a Golden Knights game during season one.
This is Las Vegas.
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