The billionaire owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino company wants to help build a domed stadium on the UNLV campus and is meeting with the owner of the Oakland Raiders, company officials said Thursday.
Sands spokesman Ron Reese said the casino company envisions a public-private partnership to build a $1 billion, 65,000-seat stadium that could be shared by a professional team and UNLV. The Sands would likely partner with other investors and might seek to draw on public revenue sources, such as hotel room tax revenue earmarked for promoting tourism.
The Raiders have no lease for a stadium for next season after NFL owners earlier this month shot down their plans to move to the Los Angeles area. The team is negotiating a short-term extension with officials in Oakland and Alameda County but is also looking for a permanent new home to replace the outdated Coliseum.
Sands owner Sheldon Adelson has scheduled a Friday meeting with Raiders owner Mark Davis. Reese didn’t elaborate on the nature of their discussions and the Raiders declined comment.
Adelson’s company includes the Venetian and Palazzo hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip as well as casinos in Macau, Singapore and Pennsylvania.
The Raiders have an option to move to Inglewood with the Rams at their new stadium if the Chargers decide to stay in San Diego. Davis also has looked at San Antonio and could look into moving to San Diego if the Chargers leave and he can negotiate a new stadium deal with officials there.
Las Vegas has been overlooked by professional sports franchises because it is home to legalized sports betting. But Reese said Las Vegas now draws more revenue from non-gambling entertainment than betting and fears of match-fixing are outdated.
“This town is about so much more than gaming at this point,” Reese said. “We think that stigma is a thing of the past.”
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
