Henderson finalizes land deal with Raiders

It’s official.

The National Football League’s Raiders have scored a multimillion-dollar deal on 55 acres in Henderson for the team’s future practice facility and headquarters.

The Henderson City Council voted Tuesday to sell the land located near the southwest corner of St. Rose Parkway and Executive Airport Drive to the Raiders, who are slated to move from Oakland and call Southern Nevada home in 2020.

The vote was approved 4-0 with Councilman Dan Stewart abstaining after disclosing a potential business deal between LVR Real Property, LLC and Stewart’s employer the Gardner Company.

“This is just an ideal situation for both the Raiders and the city of Henderson,” Councilman John Marz said during the meeting. “It does everything the city wanted to do. It will bring a lot of jobs, revenue and it’s a good kickstart for that part of the valley.”

The land, with an appraised value of $12.1 million, was sold to the team for $6.05 million.

Because of the potential for economic development — 250 full-time, non-football jobs and tax revenue — the city was able to sell the land for less than the appraised value. The project developer told city officials it would spend about $75 million building the team facilities.

Not everyone is happy about the deal, however.

Resident Patti Jesinoski said she does not understand how the city is rich enough to give away that much money when miles of roads are in need of repair.

“This is an entertainment industry and, as such, I think they do have the finances to pay full price so we can take care of the rest of our city,” Jesinoski said.

During the Jan. 2 City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Greg Blackburn said construction of the first phase alone would generate $13.8 million in tax revenue over 30 years. He also underlined a $22 million annual direct and indirect fiscal revenue for the city.

Last month, Henderson Economic Development and Tourism Director Barbra Coffee said the project would help accelerate the building of more than 600 acres of undeveloped land in that area.

Don Webb, a stadium consultant hired for the Raiders, told the council in January that the team plans to finish construction of the facility in the spring of 2020.

”We have a commitment to develop a first-class facility with an eye toward comprehensive development,” Webb said.

A likely groundbreaking is expected in April or May, according to city spokesman David Cherry.

Ground was broken for the Raiders’ $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium in November. It is scheduled to open in July 2020.

“This is a great thing for the community — not just for economic development, but for human development,” said Councilwoman Gerri Schroder. “It’s going to bring the community together as we root for the Raiders.”

Contact Sandy Lopez at slopez@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4686. Follow @JournalismSandy on Twitter.