Raiders execs expected in Las Vegas for stadium meeting

Executives with the Oakland Raiders are expected to be in Las Vegas on Thursday to provide new details to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on the team’s plans to build its stadium near the Strip.

In the first Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting since the Raiders received permission from NFL owners to relocate to Las Vegas for the 2020 season, the team and the authority are expected to unveil a new draft of a lease agreement the team would have with the authority.

The board isn’t expected to consider its approval at Thursday’s meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Clark County Government Center.

The Raiders’ presentation of a first lease agreement draft didn’t go well.

That proposal, unveiled Jan. 26, suggested the Raiders pay rent of $1 a year and require the team to sign off on all field markings when UNLV’s football team plays in the stadium.

At the time, Raiders Executive Vice President Dan Ventrelle called the draft “a starting point” for negotiations, but some references to UNLV infuriated some stadium proponents who view UNLV’s use of the venue as extremely important.

The draft submission also was the beginning of the end of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson’s involvement with the project. He had pledged $650 million of his own money toward stadium development, but he later announced he was pulling out of the deal after the Raiders presented the lease proposal without him reviewing it. The Raiders have since announced Bank of America has approved a loan to them to cover financial shortcomings.

Since the first draft, Raiders outside counsel and the authority’s new contracted attorneys have been working on a new lease for consideration.

The lease is one of two critical agreements that need to be completed before construction could start on a stadium, currently envisioned to seat 65,000 people and cost $1.9 billion. The other contract: a stadium development agreement.

The Raiders say they prefer a 62-acre site between Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue and between Polaris Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, just west of Interstate 15 and the Mandalay Bay.

The Stadium Authority would have final say on the suitability of that site. There’s nothing on Thursday’s agenda on site selection, but the Raiders could update the board when they deliver a status report on the project.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

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