We’re big fans of football — professional, college, even high school. We love watching football on TV and have attended UNLV Rebel home games for years. We bet on football games, participate in the football contests, and daily fantasy football is definitely on our bucket list. All things being equal, our take is it would be great to have an NFL team here.
Of course, all things are never equal. So briefly, here’s the rest of the story as we see it.
The move depends on the completion of the new 65,000-seat stadium that was the subject of the two-part QoD answer earlier this week. To review briefly, cost estimates fluctuate between $1.3 billion and $1.9 billion; at the upper end, it would be the most expensive NFL stadium ever built. Raiders’ owner Mark Davis has pledged $500 million to the stadium project. Sheldon Adelson has committed $650 million of his own money. The other $750 million would be raised by increasing the hotel room tax in Clark County; estimates vary from about three-quarters of a percentage point to 1%.
To address your concern about the higher room tax, currently the tax is 12%. Raising it a point would add $1 per night to a $100 hotel room. (A special tax district surrounding the stadium would redirect sales taxes to supplement the room tax.)
And though a late July poll found that 55% of local voters oppose the tax (with 35% in favor and 10% undecided), it would come mostly out of tourists’, not residents’, pockets. In addition, if $750 million sounds like a lot, consider that a room-tax record of $606 million was set in fiscal 2015, just one year.
What would Las Vegas get for hosting the Raiders? A pro team would bring sports cachet to the city and pride for the two million-plus residents, even those who aren’t football fans. The jury’s out on whether or not NFL teams are economically beneficial for a city (after all, they play only eight home games in a season), but the Raiders would represent Las Vegas 24/7 year-round. And though game tickets would compete with other local entertainment options, such as casino gambling for one example, there are plenty of ancillary benefits to the casino industry.
Adelson has said that, for his $750 million investment, he could package his hotel rooms with prime seats in the stadium for football, as well as concerts, mixed martial arts, boxing, even major league soccer, all of which bring crowds. And football occurs in part during Vegas’ relatively slow season, November and December. Steve Wynn, reportedly, also favors the stadium idea.
But how serious is Raiders’ owner Mark Davis about the move? Well, Davis is notorious for shopping the Raiders. He’s done it in Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Diego, and now Las Vegas. Still, he keeps showing up here (most recently a week ago for meetings with Adelson). In addition, last month, the Raiders filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the "Las Vegas Raiders" in multiple distinct classes covering education and entertainment services, clothing, mobile applications, football helmets, trading cards, even jewelry, among others.
As for major hurdles, the room-tax increase would need to be approved by a two-thirds majority in the state legislature, scheduled to convene in February; 75% of NFL team owners, who have long resisted putting a team in Las Vegas, would need to approve the move; and even the Federal Aviation Administration has to sign off on a tall stadium, ensuring it doesn’t interfere with plane traffic at McCarran.
In the end, though we do like the idea, we’re wait-and-see. Even if the Raiders move to Vegas, it’ll take years, if not decades, to determine if it’s a good or bad thing for the team, the gambling industry, Las Vegans, and Las Vegas.
