The vote is in and we have NFL in Las Vegas.

[bnw]

Two things on this not that i want to extend these Stan discussions. The infrastructure upgrades are being paid by Stan. He will be reimbursed part of the money if the development meets certain tax income thresholds. Secondly if those thresholds are met the $8 million you cite will keep the city in the black, they'll be making more tax income than that.

Don't forget the $180 million in sales tax kickbacks the public is giving him. We'll see if the city makes money or not after the shine wears off.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Maybe this will get the ball rolling on a couple new Amtrak rail links to Vegas.

 

[OldSchool]

Don't forget the $180 million in sales tax kickbacks the public is giving him. We'll see if the city makes money or not after the shine wears off.

That's the reimbursement for footing the infrastructure cost is tax revenues meet the requirements.

 

[Prime Time]

View: https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/846444211335544832

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/27/...-relocation-mark-davis-roger-goodell-gambling

The Raiders Are Leaving for Las Vegas
The result of Monday’s overwhelming vote to allow the Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas was not a surprise. But NFL’s the move to embrace the gambling capital of the world made one thing clear: This is not your father’s NFL anymore
by Peter King

Photo: John Locher/AP

PHOENIX — In the year’s second franchise move valuing facilities over fans, NFL owners voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve a move of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.

“OAK-land RAI-ders” chants from desperately hopeful fans serenaded owners around the posh Arizona Biltmore complex, but to no avail. The vote was 31-1, with Miami owner Stephen Ross the only negative voter. He was reportedly concerned about the drop in market size from sixth (the Oakland/San Francisco market) to 40th (Las Vegas). But in the end, an avalanche of owners felt the fact that more than half of the $1.7-billion stadium would be publicly funded was too big an advantage to pass up.

But this isn’t going to be easy. They won’t be the “Las Vegas Raiders” until they leave Oakland. Commissioner Roger Goodell said the team would remain the Oakland Raiders for at least two more years, while the new stadium is being built just off the Strip in Las Vegas. And the Raiders, as of today, do not have a scheduled home for 2019 and may be forced to play in Vegas’s 35,500-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, home of UNLV (and currently not suited for NFL games) while the new place is being finished.

“I have mixed feelings, obviously,’’ said owner Mark Davis, appearing subdued, minutes after the announcement at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. “I love Oakland. I love the fans in Oakland.” But … “My father always said, ‘The greatness of the Raiders is in its future,’ and the opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is a significant step toward achieving that greatness.”

There were so many surreal aspects of this decision. One: In 1982, Al Davis moved the Raiders south to Los Angeles after 22 seasons in Oakland. Now his son, a former Raiders water boy at training camp, moves the Raiders south to Las Vegas after 22 years (and a second act) in Oakland. Two: A generation ago, the NFL was rock-solid that there would never be a franchise in Las Vegas, where legalized sports betting reigns.

There are 76 casinos in the city. And not a single question was put to Goodell or three NFL representatives, or to Davis, about gambling on Monday. Three: Every hardline, traditional football family—the Rooneys (Pittsburgh), the Maras (Giants), the Fords (Detroit), the McCaskeys (Chicago)—voted for the move to Las Vegas. Strange days indeed.

And it was odd to see Davis—rejected in a bid to move the Raiders to the Los Angeles suburbs last year—emerge from the NFL’s game of musical-stadium chairs with a better venue, one that they will have to themselves instead of sharing it with the Chargers. It was odder still to hear him say, “We would love nothing more than to bring a championship back to the Bay Area.”

But how will the Bay Area treat the lame ducks? Which brought up the Alternative Fact of the Day, from Davis: “I wouldn’t use the term, ‘lame duck.’ We’re still the Oakland Raiders.”

Look up “lame duck,’’ and it won’t be so surprising if the illustration now is the Raiders logo.

The players will have to deal with the wake of this decision. On Monday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was already trying. He issued a fence-sitting statement that a face-of-the-franchise player, in this situation, had to say.

In part: “I am overwhelmed with emotion. I don’t know how we should feel. I feel the pain of our fans in Oakland. I also see the joy on the faces of our new fans in Las Vegas … While I am from California and would have loved to play in Oakland my whole career, I understand the business side of the NFL.’’

Because Mark Davis chose not to take on a partner in his ownership of the Raiders, he had to be beholden to public money to get a new stadium. The Oakland Coliseum is the worst existing stadium in the NFL, without any competition for the bottom spot. And without significant public money coming from Oakland (justifiably so), Davis went on the road to make the best deal he could find.

He’ll get at least $750 million in public funding, plus a $600 million Bank of America loan and the standing offer of $500 million from the league. All of that should build the new stadium and leave Davis able to manage his rising team with enough money to spare—after, of course, paying the league’s franchise-relocation fee of about $350 million.

“We believe this will lead to a more stable franchise,’’ NFL Finance Committee chairman Bob McNair said. “We regret the Oakland fans will be disappointed, but we were unable to find a viable plan there.’’ Said commissioner Roger Goodell: “Our goal is to have 32 stable franchises … There has been a stadium situation in Oakland that needed to be addressed … and this has been an issue for well over a decade.’’

Now for the gambling aspect. It’s clear that a cadre of owners with heft in the league—Dallas’ Jerry Jones and New England’s Robert Kraft among them—aren’t bothered by gambling now because it’s so prevalent in our society. Last week, I asked Goodell why the league was not deterred by the prevalence of legalized and sports gambling in Las Vegas anymore.

“… I think also you have to realize the changes that are evolving in society on gambling,’’ Goodell said. “Second: I think Las Vegas has evolved as a city. It's not just a singular industry. While it is still dominated by that [the gambling industry], there is a lot of entertainment going there, including political conventions.

Our leaders in government are all going there. It is really an entertainment city now, much more broadly than it would have been thought of even a decade ago, much less two or three decades ago. In our analysis, we've been able to look at Vegas and it is actually one of the fastest growing cities in the country.’’

It’s now an NFL city. This is not your father’s NFL anymore.

 

[bnw]

That's the reimbursement for footing the infrastructure cost is tax revenues meet the requirements.

Still is welfare going to a multi-billionaire.

 

[lockdnram21]

He might just be anti relocation. If I remember correctly he was one of two votes against the Rams moving.

Nope they voted yes to rams moving

 

[OldSchool]

Nope they voted yes to rams moving

Nope he was one of the 2 to vote against it and he explained why in an article PT linked.

 

[OldSchool]

Still is welfare going to a multi-billionaire.

Nope but it's ok have a great evening.

 

[bnw]

Nope but it's ok have a great evening.

Yes and likewise.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Apparently after Carson was shot down the city of Oakland told the Raiders they had no leverage... Goes to show, when cities try to push the owner into a corner and be the strongman in negotiations the NFL is going to do whatever the hell they want and make sure they put that shit down real fast.

 

[fearsomefour]

That makes two of us!

It's fun reading the assumptions of the uninformed about our state and Vegas.

Yes and no.
Im not the biggest fan of "here"....but, I don't hate it.
I don't see Vegas being a huge football town for the Raiders after the novelty wears off.....I hope I am wrong.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Don't forget the $180 million in sales tax kickbacks the public is giving him. We'll see if the city makes money or not after the shine wears off.

doesn't that still mean the city isn't putting any money down to build the stadium and peripheral development including roads? just face it, the city got a golden deal with stan. like any other large business the state will provide tax incentives to lure them to the state.

.

 

[bnw]

doesn't that still mean the city isn't putting any money down to build the stadium and peripheral development including roads? just face it, the city got a golden deal with stan. like any other large business the state will provide tax incentives to lure them to the state.

.

As these deals go sure it is a better deal $180 million vs. the $470 million St. louis was willing to put up while STILL owing $100 million on the Edward Jones Dome. But don't fool yourself that he isn't receiving public funds because he most certainly is for his new stadium.

 

[bnw]

I don't see Vegas being a huge football town for the Raiders after the novelty wears off.....I hope I am wrong.

I wonder about that too. Isn't Vegas close enough for Raiders fans in CA to catch 8 games a year? Isn't Vegas a cheap plane ticket from most anywhere? The move might turn out better for the CA fans to see the game as well as Vegas?

 

[Pape]

Three teams moving in a year. Wow. The owners are raking in the dough with those relocation fees, which total 1.65 billion dollars. 650 million for the Rams, 650 million for the Chargers and 350 million for the Raiders. That's a huge chunk of change in the owners pockets.

meanwhile the fans in st louis, san diego and oakland ...... well get screwed over, for lack of a better phrase.

 

[snackdaddy]

I feel bad for the loyal fans in Oakland. But the city is the one to blame in all of this. They just did not do enough to try and keep them. My oldest son lives in Hayward and is a big Raiders fan. He told me he'll follow the Raiders as long as Derek Carr is their QB. After that he'll have to wait and see how he feels. We're both from Fresno so Carr is a big deal around here.

 

[Prime Time]

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...000000-in-public-money-nfl-stadium-era-closes

With $6.7 billion in public money, NFL closes stadium era
Kevin Seifert/NFL Nation

PHOENIX -- That oughta do it. The NFL's two-decade blitz of stadium development largely ended this week with the granddaddy of them all: a nearly $1 billion gift from the tax coffers of Nevada to lure the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.

With the Raiders' future settled, there are no more NFL stadium flashpoints on the near horizon and -- more importantly -- no obvious cities to be used as leverage against municipalities that refuse to provide public assistance.

Perhaps the only team with a looming issue is the Buffalo Bills, who might soon push to replace 44-year-old New Era Stadium, but they have a lease through 2023 and are just three years removed from $130 million in taxpayer-funded renovations.

So after an era in which 21 new stadiums were built and three others were heavily renovated, thanks in large part to an estimated $6.7 billion in public money, the league appears to have hit a natural resting point. Monday, I asked Eric Grubman -- the NFL's executive vice president and point person on stadium politics -- if he agreed.

"Yes and no," Grubman said. He noted there are three catalysts for a stadium crisis: an aging facility, a lack of recent maintenance and a short-term lease.

"If you have those three things," he said, "the owner is going to be looking around -- and other cities are going to be looking around. You don't wake up one day and it happens. There is a drumbeat, and I don't see that drumbeat right now in any other city.

"But if you take the long-term view, it's a constant thing. Owners and cities and fans need to understand that. If you build a house, it's not like you never ever do anything to the house for the next 30 years. You have to pay attention to it. It has to be a constant [maintenance]. Everybody's got to pull on those oars."

Given his role in the league, we can't expect Grubman to say the league's stadium games have concluded. But commissioner Roger Goodell's long-standing goal to have "32 stable franchises in their market," a sentiment he reiterated Monday, seems close to fruition. The journey to this point includes some remarkable numbers that merit further inspection.

I arrived at the $6.7 billion public price tag using public reports and research from John McTigue of ESPN Stats & Information. Not everyone classifies public money the same way, but here's how we landed on that estimate.

Between 2000 and the start of the 2020 season, the NFL will have opened 16 new stadiums with the help of $5 billion in public contributions. Two of those stadiums didn't factor in that $5 billion -- MetLife in New Jersey and the in-progress megastructure near Los Angeles – because they were financed with 100 percent private money.

During the same period, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears used $557 million in public money to gut and rebuild their buildings. In 2011, the Kansas City Chiefs received $262 million for a major renovation of 45-year-old Arrowhead Stadium. Those three projects totaled about $820 million in subsidies.

Going further back, five franchises built stadiums from 1997 to '99 at a time when they were far less costly. Still, the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans coerced a not-insignificant $873 million in combined public monies to help with construction.

That's a big part of the how the NFL built a fortress of stadiums and became the richest sports league in America. The effort has been stunning in magnitude, brutal in its lack of sentimentality, and instructive for its insight into league operations.

Most notably: the NFL doesn't bluff.

Plenty of municipalities have wondered whether the league would yank franchises long intertwined in civic culture. Most chose not to find out and negotiated the best agreement possible. Those that did -- for their own justified reasons, in my opinion -- paid the price. The cities of St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland likely have lost pro football forever.

In addition, the decision to "evolve" on the Las Vegas gambling issue -- and to look past its relatively low population and small business community -- raises the stakes for any future stadium standoff. There is now precedent to move to a nontraditional location. While no obvious relocation hosts come to mind at the moment, recent events suggest we shouldn't rule out places such as Toronto, Mexico City and London down the road.

"It's not by accident that there are other markets that could be suitable for teams," Grubman said. "It's a high-class problem if all 32 are doing fine in their markets and we still have unfilled demand. Who wouldn't want that? We want that."

Further, a word of caution is necessary as we attempt to put a bracket on this portion of NFL history. While you and I might have a hard time composing a list of stadium-needy teams, we should know that the hunger is insatiable.

The Atlanta Falcons will move into Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season, just 25 years after they moved into the Georgia Dome. The Redskins have circulated "concepts" for a new stadium to replace FedEx Field, which opened in 1997.

Still, Monday seemed to be the end of an era, a period when the NFL systematically moved its teams into revenue-generating behemoths, prioritizing finance over sentimentality at every turn. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross seems to think so, at least as it relates to public money.

"You've got to look around," Ross said Monday at the owners meetings. "There's very little public money available for teams today. And if you own a team, you should have the deep pockets to deliver. You need some public money for infrastructure and things like that. But with the costs of stadiums today, our country can't afford to put all of the money in those things."

But the league is making more money than ever, and the SportsBusiness Journal projects the NFL's annual revenues at $14 billion annually. If it's going to grow further, it'll have to find a way other than through new stadiums. For the moment, I think. Has to be, right? We shall see.

 

[fearsomefour]

I wonder about that too. Isn't Vegas close enough for Raiders fans in CA to catch 8 games a year? Isn't Vegas a cheap plane ticket from most anywhere? The move might turn out better for the CA fans to see the game as well as Vegas?

Maybe.
So Cal fans could drive.
Don't know how many would on a regular basis.

 

[Prime Time]

And so it begins...
**********************
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/03/28/nevada-businessman-plans-a-raiders-themed-brothel/

Nevada businessman plans a Raiders-themed brothel
Posted by Darin Gantt on March 28, 2017

Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel owner Dennis Hof /AP PHOTO/CATHLEEN ALLISON

Just sin, baby.

The Raiders’ upcoming move to Las Vegas is being greeted with open arms — or something — by one enterprising Nevada businessman.

According to Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Sun, Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof announced plans to open a Raiders-themed establishment called “Pirate’s Booty.”

“I’ve had a license for a seventh brothel near Las Vegas for some time now, but I was waiting for the right time to launch another house of debauchery,” Hof said. “The Raiders coming to Vegas will mean big business for me, so my next sex den will honor the ‘Men in Black’ and their ‘Raider Nation.’”

(In a related note, Hall of Famer and former Raider Warren Sapp is plotting a comeback as we speak.)

The house of ill repute will be 90 miles outside of Las Vegas in Crystal. Hof said Raiders players and staff will get 50 percent off at his establishments, and there will be a VIP section at staffed with “over 20 cheerleader-garbed working girls.”

So now, at least someone other than fans in Oakland will be getting, … oh, never mind.

 

[OldSchool]

Good old Dennis Hof, never misses a chance to turn a buck or get his name in the papers.