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Raiders expect to break ground for Las Vegas stadium Nov. 13

Updated October 19, 2017 - 6:39 pm

A member of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority says the Oakland Raiders have settled on a date for the groundbreaking of its planned 65,000-seat domed football stadium.

Board member Tommy White, business manager and secretary-treasurer of Laborers Union Local 872, said the team is planning an event for Nov. 13.

“We’re looking forward to start handing out our hard hats and getting people out to work,” White said in a telephone interview late Thursday.

The Raiders were playing a Thursday night game with the Kansas City Chiefs in Oakland, and team representatives did not return phone calls requesting verification of the date.

White said he received an email confirmation of the event.

“I just don’t have a time yet because I think they’re doing some scheduling and making sure they get certain invitees to come,” White said. “But, yes, everybody’s looking forward to the 13th.”

Other sources close to negotiations with the Raiders indicated the team had a range of dates under consideration for a groundbreaking between Nov. 6 and 17, but were unaware a specific date had been chosen.

White said he expects the groundbreaking formally will be announced by the team at the Stadium Authority’s monthly meeting on Nov. 9.

The authority board’s last planned meeting, scheduled for Oct. 12, was canceled in the wake of the Oct. 1 mass shooting tragedy less than a mile away from the stadium site. Board Chairman Steve Hill said when canceling the meeting that several agreements between the team, the authority, Clark County and UNLV hadn’t been completed.

The Raiders in May acquired 63 acres between Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue, just west of Interstate 15, for $77.5 million.

Technically, the Raiders, which have hired Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction and Henderson’s McCarthy Building Cos. as general contractors, can’t begin construction until they have development agreements with the authority and the county.

They can, however, conduct pre-construction work and the authority is expected to consider an enabling work agreement at the Nov. 9 meeting that would spell out what contractors would be permitted to do and to place all liability on the Raiders.

Among the 17 bullet points in an exhibit on the enabling work document is “groundbreaking activities.”

Contractors also will be permitted to clear and grade the land, set up construction office trailers, survey and stake the ground, import and export materials and relocate a drainage box culvert beneath the ground.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.

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