Allegiant Stadium’s Revenues, Raiders Game Ticket Sales Help Silver & Black Team Value Soar; Biz Magazine Pegs Raiders Value At $6.2 Billion
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
The state of Nevada has made Raiders owner Mark Davis a very wealthy man based on NFL team values published by a business magazine.
After the Raiders moved to Las Vegas thanks to a $750 million public stadium construction subsidy established in a 2016 state law, the value of Davis’ Raiders has soared to an eye-popping $6.2 billion — a 22 percent increase in value over last year, according to Forbes, which recently released its annual NFL team values.
When the Raiders played in Oakland, Forbes said the Raiders were valued at $970 million in 2014 — only two years before former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed the Raiders stadium funding bill into law after state lawmakers approved SB1 in a special session.
The Raiders’ first season in Las Vegas was 2020 after Allegiant Stadium was built, though fans were not allowed in the building for Raiders games until the 2021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several factors contributed to the Raiders’ stunning ascent in team value.
— Revenue-generating power of publicly-subsidized Allegiant Stadium, which is a cash cow for the Raiders because it also draws money for the team from non-football events like concerts and other non-NFL programming. The overall stadium project cost came in a hair under $2 billion, whichy included the stadium construction budget at $1.4 billion. The Nevada Legislature approved a bill in 2016 that earmarked $750 million for the construction of the domed, 62,500-seat stadium. Thanks to an 88 cents/$100 room tax in Southern Nevada hotels, about $4 million are raised every month to help pay off the debt on the bonds that were sold for the public contribution toward building Raiders stadium.
The stadium will be hosting events like the Super Bowl in 2024 and college basketball’s Final Four in 2028. It also hosts UNLV football games and international soccer exhibition games. The Raiders run the stadium and work with local tourism agency officials to bring events to the venue, which sits on the west side Interstate 15 across from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino-convention center.
— The Raiders’ revenue has skyrocketed to $729 million — second in the NFL, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys ($1.14 billion in revenue), according to Forbes. It should be noted, though, that the Raiders’ operating income of $72 million trails 25 others team in the 32-club league.
— The team’s gate receipts of $130 million leads the NFL despite the fact the Raiders won only six of 17 games in 2022 and is not considered a contender to win their four-team division in 2023.
The National Football League generates nearly $20 billion in annual revenue, with TV and media rights deals accounting for the biggest source of the money gusher.
Plus, the Washington Commanders sold for a record $6.05 billion this year, so that sale helped set the standard for NFL team values.
The magazine pegged the average NFL team value 5.1 billion, which was a 14 percent increase over 2022.
The five NFL teams ranked above the Raiders in team value were the Cowboys at $9 billion; Patriots, $7 billion; Rams, $6.9 billion; Giants, $6.8 billion; and Bears, $6.3 billion, according to the magazine.
The bottom five teams in value were three 2022 playoff teams — Jaguars at $4 billion, Cardinals at $3.8 billion, Bills at $37 billion, Lions at $3.6 billion and Bengals at $3.5 billion.
The Nevada Legislature and Gov. Joe Lombardo this year have also increased the value of another major league sports team from Oakland by approving a $390 million stadium subsidy for the MLB Oakland Athletics. The A’s hope to build a 33,000-seat baseball stadium at the Tropicana hotel site on the Strip in 2028.
