Plans Moving Forward For Raiders Stadium in Las Vegas

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A decision on funding a stadium in Las Vegas for the Oakland Raiders has been delayed. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, the SNTIC (Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee) will now vote in August on the potential Raiders stadium.

Those hoping for the plan to pass needn’t worry, though. According to Cole, the decision is still expected to be in favor of full funding for a stadium.

“Ultimately, that decision is supposed to go forward,”Cole said in a video. “The committee is supposed to recommend that  the stadium be built and that the funds be set aside for that, according to sources I’ve talked to. And that amount of spending is supposed to be the full $750 million that people had talked about before. Not a lower number such as $500 or $550 million that some people have talked about.”

That’s certainly big news. It makes the Raiders’ path to Las Vegas smoother. Still, even if the full funding is recommended, a stadium deal and move may not necessarily happen.

The Raiders won’t move without a stadium deal in place but have committed to making the move if the funding is approved. The SNTIC only gets to make a recommendation on funding. Ultimately, the final decision regarding funding lies with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.

Ultimately, this will be interesting to watch and could make for a strong side plot throughout the season. If the city officials of Oakland want to keep the Raiders, they certainly need to generate a stadium deal. The faster the better.

There is one proposal being considered currently, led by Ronnie Lott and a group of local businessmen. After chatting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf has agreed to put it on the table as a potential solution to keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

That said, Raiders owner Mark Davis appears hell bent on getting his team out of Northern California and sees Las Vegas as the perfect fit.