Former Gov. Sandoval, Advocate For Raiders Stadium Subsidy Bill, Leaves MGM Resorts To Pursue University of Nevada, Reno Prez Job
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
He’s the forgotten man who made the Raiders stadium a reality in Las Vegas.
No, not Sheldon Adelson.
He’s Brian Sandoval, the former Nevada governor who created the political framework five years ago that would pave the way for the public to give the Raiders $750 million so that the NFL team would leave Oakland for Las Vegas.
The news this week is that Sandoval is leaving his post-gubernatorial job as an MGM Resorts International executive in charge of global gaming development to pursue the president’s job at the University of Nevada at Reno. Sandoval was MGM Resorts’ president of global gaming development since Jan. 2019.
Sandoval, who passed the reins to the governor’s job to Gov. Steve Sisolak 15 months ago, was an advocate of the Raiders stadium. He created the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, which was a smart political move to justify the need for a domed stadium in Las Vegas.
After Adelson bankrolled the lobbying effort to get the state Legislature to approve the $750 stadium subsidy for the Raiders, Sandoval signed the stadium bill into law in 2016 and it was a done deal.
“This stadium was the missing link,” Sandoval told LVSportsBiz.com in January.
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