Raiders to Las Vegas Falls Apart

Sheldon Alderson, the lead investor in the Las Vegas stadium proposal, suddenly pulled out of the project, apparently enraged over details that he claims he or his people didn't know about in the agreement, including the Raiders paying $1 per year rent, retaining naming rights for the stadium, and controlling the scheduling of non NFL events, such as UNLV football games. After the announcement, the Raiders announced that the banking firm Goldman Sachs would step up to fill the void, but a couple ours after that announcement, they said they would not participate unless Alderson was part of the deal (speculation is that Alderson pressured Goldman Sachs into backing out, too). And to make matters worse, the public funding side approved by the Nevada legislature specifies that Alderson be a part of the project.

Then yesterday, San Diego officials announced that they wouldn't mind hosting the Raiders, at least temporarily.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ear ... f27fd73c1e

All this happens a little over a month before the NFL owners were to vote on the proposed relocation.

I find this very bizarre, that some of these very important details in the agreement, such as naming rights, wasn't hashed out a long time ago. It's also evident that Mark Davis, whom the other NFL owners didn't care much for and left out of the proposed move to LA, way overplayed his hand.

So where do the Raiders end up? San Antonio? Mexico City? Or do they stay in the Bay Area and share the Niners stadium?

Come to LA.

Mizak":3prjxsh1 said:

Come to LA.

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Not an option.

Only the Raiders could screw this up so badly. Alderson had it all out on a silver platter for them. Supposedly he wanted ownership stake (can't really blame him) and my GUESS is that the Raiders gambled it all away just to avoid giving him that. They were going to cover his share thinking the bank was just going to give it to them ignoring that Alderson is the one that has the relationship with Goldman.

This is such a bush league gaffe on the Raiders part. I don't even think Jed York would do this bad.

mikeak":13t4iwtx said:

the Raiders gambled it all away.

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And the original Sin city strikes again. Haha

Seahawk_Dan":3cv5vgvm said:

mikeak":3cv5vgvm said:

the Raiders gambled it all away.

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And the original Sin city strikes again. Haha

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:ditto: That Davis boy might have to cut his own hair.

Siouxhawk":2cj2h6aq said:

Seahawk_Dan":2cj2h6aq said:

mikeak":2cj2h6aq said:

the Raiders gambled it all away.

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And the original Sin city strikes again. Haha

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:ditto: That Davis boy might have to cut his own hair.

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I think he already does. 8)

mikeak":2wbmljou said:

Only the Raiders could screw this up so badly. Alderson had it all out on a silver platter for them. Supposedly he wanted ownership stake (can't really blame him) and my GUESS is that the Raiders gambled it all away just to avoid giving him that. They were going to cover his share thinking the bank was just going to give it to them ignoring that Alderson is the one that has the relationship with Goldman.

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According to Alderson, the Raiders had insisted on owning the naming rights to the stadium, pay $1 per year in rent, and control scheduling of all non NFL events, such as UNLV. Alderson claimed that neither he or any of his people were aware of these clauses, which seems very strange considering they had agreed to pony up $650M.

Mark Davis is the one with egg on his face. He really over played his hand. No wonder the NFL nixed the Raiders/Chargers stadium plan and went with Kroneke and the Rams. I hope Davis knows how to speak Spanish.

RiverDog":1ndcwu72 said:

mikeak":1ndcwu72 said:

Only the Raiders could screw this up so badly. Alderson had it all out on a silver platter for them. Supposedly he wanted ownership stake (can't really blame him) and my GUESS is that the Raiders gambled it all away just to avoid giving him that. They were going to cover his share thinking the bank was just going to give it to them ignoring that Alderson is the one that has the relationship with Goldman.

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According to Alderson, the Raiders had insisted on owning the naming rights to the stadium, pay $1 per year in rent, and control scheduling of all non NFL events, such as UNLV. Alderson claimed that neither he or any of his people were aware of these clauses, which seems very strange considering they had agreed to pony up $650M.

Mark Davis is the one with egg on his face. He really over played his hand. No wonder the NFL nixed the Raiders/Chargers stadium plan and went with Kroneke and the Rams. I hope Davis knows how to speak Spanish.

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I thought the $1 in the draft of the lease agreement was there only because there had yet to be an amount negotiated. Either way, Mark Davis thought he was going to roll into Vegas and be the top dog and get whatever he asked for. Wrong, the casino's are the top dog and they aren't letting some jackass like MD dictate like he's the Supreme Leader. Adelson did NV / Vegas a huge favor, that 750 mill of taxpayers money they weren't going to get any return on can now go towards a useful cause in lieu of a useless idiot. :lol:

Foghawk":10y7jo91 said:

Adelson did NV / Vegas a huge favor, that 750 mill of taxpayers money they weren't going to get any return on can now go towards a useful cause in lieu of a useless idiot. :lol:

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Nah, they're probably still going to use the money to build something Adelson wants for his casinos to use.

Raiders staying in Oakland and playing in that pile of shit stadium is the way it should be IMO.

Even though their fans leave a lot to be desired, they have supported that team more than once for decades.

Foghawk":3ge49x7g said:

I thought the $1 in the draft of the lease agreement was there only because there had yet to be an amount negotiated. Either way, Mark Davis thought he was going to roll into Vegas and be the top dog and get whatever he asked for. Wrong, the casino's are the top dog and they aren't letting some jackass like MD dictate like he's the Supreme Leader. Adelson did NV / Vegas a huge favor, that 750 mill of taxpayers money they weren't going to get any return on can now go towards a useful cause in lieu of a useless idiot. :lol:

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Could be, and perhaps that could explain one part of why Alderson and his people were unaware of the specifics of the proposed agreement.

But there was enough other stuff, such as the naming rights and the control over scheduling, that Alderson claims he wasn't aware of that makes you wonder why they'd go to such lengths as to lobby the Nevada state legislature if they hadn't agreed on those rather important details in advance.

I agree with you about Davis's arrogance. Those in the gambling industry by their very nature aren't the type of guys you can bully, certainly not the 83 year old Alderson, who has nothing to lose in telling Davis to go #### himself.

Was waiting to see how the Raiders would get screwed on this.. wasn't expecting it to be in this manner but just had to figure something would happen to them - because Raiders.

I'd laugh hysterically though if they wound up moving to San Diego. :lol:

Hasselbeck":1cnxdbll said:

Was waiting to see how the Raiders would get screwed on this.. wasn't expecting it to be in this manner but just had to figure something would happen to them - because Raiders.

I'd laugh hysterically though if they wound up moving to San Diego. :lol:

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The move to San Diego would only be temporary. Their venue isn't any better than Oakland's and if the Chargers couldn't get a deal done, there's zero chance that the Raiders would fare any better. They still have two 1 year options in Oakland and would be foolish to move out before 2019 as there's still hope that the team will stay in the bay area, making it a little easier to sell tickets.

The NFL (Roger Goodell) wants to get into non-U.S. cities so bad it can taste it. Cue the layup for Mexico City getting the very first NFL team outside of the U.S.

SeatownJay":1zlscl91 said:

Foghawk":1zlscl91 said:

Adelson did NV / Vegas a huge favor, that 750 mill of taxpayers money they weren't going to get any return on can now go towards a useful cause in lieu of a useless idiot. :lol:

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Nah, they're probably still going to use the money to build something Adelson wants for his casinos to use.

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Good possibility (there are rumors) the TP's 750 mill would be reallocated to an on campus stadium at UNLV. There have been several proposals for this over the past few years that range from the 850 mill - 1.4 bill range.

Foghawk":q6e0azhq said:

that 750 mill of taxpayers money they weren't going to get any return on can now go towards a useful cause in lieu of a useless idiot. :lol:

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I missed this comment

Their constituents taxpayer weren't really going to pay much

It was going to be paid by hotel taxes (ok in Vegas locals use the hotels at times but most of the money is from the outside). Vegas is one of a few places that could totally make this work. Add $1-3 to the nightly tax bill and it will not stop anyone from going to Vegas. It would have zero impact on tourism AND it would be guaranteed to be gotten back to the stadium project.

In addition for those 8 weekends they would also significantly improve bookings on Sunday nights where many people leave Vegas. It would be good for business and help the rest of the income they bring in via other taxes

Vegas putting up the money is something I totally supported and they are an exception to the rule for this much money (I am not opposed to smaller amounts by other cities but it has to be reviewed to make sense)

I'm really torn between the fact that I wanted to see the Raiders move to Las Vegas and the fact that I love seeing the team screw up all the public money they tried to get.