Raiders Buy Las Vegas Stadium Site

The Raiders closed on 62 acres of property for their new stadium on Monday. Although the team wouldn’t give terms of the deal, the sale was valued at $77.5 million according to papers filed in the Clark County Courthouse. The stadium will be by Russell Road not too far from the Strip or I-15. Ownership of the land will officially be transferred to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

The team plans to open the new stadium in time for the 2020 NFL season. But that didn’t stop them from having a draft party in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Raiders announced some of their picks near the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” sign. The team held an event in Oakland for the first round of the draft on Thursday.

The new stadium will be a 65,000 seat dome with an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. The team is expected to come up with $500 million towards the purchase price. But naming rights to the stadium could make up as much as 10 to 15 percent of that. Either way, the Raiders will be asked to pay a decent amount. Taxes will also contribute a good share of the final cost. Nevada has promised $750 million towards the cost from increased hotel room taxes.

The Raiders will play in Oakland in 2017. But after that, it’s anybody’s guess as to what the team will do. Much of that will likely be determined by the support they have this year. The Raiders could temporarily play a season or two at UNLV’s Stadium while the new stadium is being built. But the Rebels can only hold a maximum of 40,000 people in Sam Boyd Stadium. That’s with maximum expansion the stadium can handle. Sam Boyd Stadium typically holds 35,000 people. San Antonio has offered the Raiders a temporary home if things don’t go well in Oakland.