Though the Oakland Raiders are continuing with their effort to move to Las Vegas, the team is unlikely to have a lease for the facility before an NFL meeting this month.
This week has seen some progress for the team’s plan to move to Las Vegas, as the Raiders revealed that Bank of America had come aboard the project to address a major funding gap. That news was reported as the Raiders made their case to the NFL’s stadium and finance committee.
The timing for this is key, given that NFL owners are set to meet in Phoenix from March 26-29 and could vote on the proposal. However, it does not appear that the Raiders will be able to present details on a lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.
During a meeting on Thursday, authority officials confirmed that a lease with the Raiders will not be agreed upon within the coming weeks, and the authority is not scheduled to convene until after the NFL’s meeting in Phoenix. Discussions with the team will have to continue, but the authority is still hopeful that the NFL will consider the plan this month, according to chariman Steve Hill. More from the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“My sense is that the approval will probably come, if it comes, with some conditions around what’s important to the NFL around the content of what that lease would be,” Hill said after the meeting.
“As we went through the process of talking to the attorneys, we asked them questions along those lines. They said the requirements that the NFL puts on that are reasonable and the NFL certainly functions in a businesslike manner,” Hill added. “They’re not trying to be overly intrusive. They just want to make sure that their interests are protected as well.”
Hill added that “we’re hoping it will happen at the end of March, but that’s for the Raiders and the NFL to deal with.”
If the NFL does not vote in March, the plan could be considered is in May, when the league will meet in Chicago from the 22nd-24th. The Las Vegas stadium, if approved, is expected to be ready in time for the 2020 season.
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