Latest talks settle little in Raiders possible move to Las Vegas

Latest talks settle little in Raiders possible move to Las Vegas

Latest talks settle little in Raiders possible move to Las VegasLatest talks settle little in Raiders possible move to Las Vegas. The Oakland Raiders and developers behind a potential new stadium for the Raiders in Las Vegas have thrown their cards on the table.

So has the committee tasked with recommending how much money the state of Nevada will kick in to help pay for it.

At the end of a long day of meetings on Thursday, a $200 million funding gap and a final decision on a site divided the two sides. But with multiple destinations in play, a willingness by both sides to make a deal work and enough money on either end to close the gap, a path seems to be clearing to making it happen.

That was the mutual takeaway Thursday in Las Vegas after the Southern Nevada Tourism Committee traded ideas and proposals with the Raiders and stadium developers from the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Majestic Realty Co.

The session began with the SNTIC offering an alternative funding option that would reduce the public portion of the $1.4 billion project from $750 million to $550 million. And while the hastily put together SNTIC plan was met with protests by the Raiders and the Sands and Majestic – to be expected in negotiations of this sort – by the end of the meeting both sides conceded there is ample middle ground from which a deal can be struck.

The key now is closing that gap between now and the next SNTIC meeting on July 11, which is the new target date to provide Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval with a recommendation to move forward in time for Sandoval to call a special Nevada State Legislature session to render an ultimate decision.

“The sand is running out of the glass,” said SNTIC chair Steve Sisolak. “We need to get this done.”

But sources with intimate knowledge of the negotiations believe there is time and motivation to make that happen.

“They’re definitely in the Red Zone,” said a Nevada state source. “Not first and goal quite yet, but they can see the end zone and they know it.”

Said another source: “Considering the politics in play, for one side to be at $750 million and the other at $550 million and mechanisms available to close that, it’s not a huge divide. That’s doable. And both sides are motivated to make it happen.”

A chief aid for the Las Vegas Sands Co. put it more distinctly

“We are going to find a way to make this work,” Andy Abboud told the committee.

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