Adelson Says Raiders Were Taking Advantage of Him

Sheldon Adelson hasn’t exactly broken his silence on why he backed out of a deal that could have helped the Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas, but one of his spokesman did. Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which Adelson owns, Andy Abboud said Adelson was being taken advantage of.

(Adelson) was willing to share revenues and make it financially mutually beneficial, but they were picking his pocket,” Abboud said. “It was never about the financial return for the Adelsons, but the Adelson family wasn’t going to have their pocket picked, by the Raiders or by the NFL or anybody.”

Adelson, who owns the Las Vegas Sands Corp., was willing to put up $650 million towards the building of a new domed stadium. With him pulling his support, the Raiders will need to find outside funding to move forward to Las Vegas. The state of Nevada was putting up $750 million through an increase in Clark County hotel taxes. The Raiders are putting up $500 million of the $1,9 billion price tag.

He pulled his support after the Raiders made no mention of him as a partner in a proposed lease. The Raiders also made several demands in their proposed lease that were not well-received. The team wanted full control of UNLV’s football schedule and did not want to allow the Rebels to have any field markings.

Such a move could very well put the state’s portion of the funding at risk. The Rebels were a key part of the legislature passing the tax increase. That only passed by one vote and without a guarantee that UNLV will have more control, that too could disappear.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was not a fan of Adelson owning part of the stadium. A new investor without casino ties may make him more agreeable to the Raiders moving.