X

Man Who Politically Signed Off On Raiders Stadium Funding Law Among Fans At Raiders Draft Party Thursday

Former Gov. Brain Sandoval at Raiders draft watch party Thursday.

   Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

There were hundreds of Raiders fans of all backgrounds lounging around the Drai’s beach and night club next to the NFL Draft site here in Las Vegas Thursday.

The LVCVA’s top guy, Steve Hill, was there. So was the Raiders’ A.J. Cole III. And the fans were abundant, including a fella who goes by “Senor” wearing a Raiders sombrero.

But there was one man there who cleared the political path for the Raiders to come to Las Vegas.

He was the person who signed the bill into law in 2016 that authorized the collection of hotel room tax revenues that’s paying for Southern Nevada’s public contribution of $750 million to help build the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.

The partyers at Drai’s have former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to thank for signing the Raiders stadium bill into law and having an NFL team based in the Las Vegas market.

Sandoval has told LVSportsBiz.com in the past that the Southern Nevada market needed a stadium of the scope of the Raiders venue. He thought it was the missing link for the metro las Vegas economy and thought the $750 million public contribution — the biggest public subsidy for an NFL stadium from a single funding source — was justified.

The Raiders did not have a first round pick.

But the fans still packed Drai’s to party.

Speaking of fans and draft atmosphere, LVSportsBiz.com photographer J. Tyge O’Donnell captured some terrific images. Take a look:

 


PSA

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.
Related Post